Sunday, December 10, 2017

Holiday Gift Guide: Game of Thrones: The Complete Seventh Season DVD



Game of Thrones: The Complete Seventh Season DVD


Studio
HBO Home Entertainment 

Retail
$59.99 (DVD)
$74.99 (Blu-ray)

Running Time
437 minutes

Number of Discs
5

Rating
TV-MA

Where to Purchase
Amazon (DVD)
Amazon (Blu-ray)

 Description

The long winter is here. Throughout seven thrilling episodes, the penultimate Season 7 focuses on a convergence of armies and attitudes that have been brewing for years. As the seasons begins, Daenerys Targaryen - accompanied by her Unsullied army and emboldened by Dothraki/Ironborn allies and her lethal trio of dragons - has finally set sail for Westeros with Tyrion Lannister, her newly appointed Hand. Jon Snow has apparently consolidated power in the North after his spectacular conquest of Ramsay Bolton and the return of Winterfell to Stark control. In King's Landing, Cersei Lannister, bereft of any surviving heirs, has successfully seized the Iron Throne. But as these and others factions drive towards new alliances or (more likely) violent conflicts, the cold specter of another, apocalyptic threat - in the form of an army of undead White Walkers - threatens to undermine the status quo and obliterate the outcome of these smaller, all-too-human rivalries.

DVD Exclusive Bonus Features

  • Conquest & Rebellion: An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms- From the Game of Thrones realm comes the never-before-seen story of the tumultuous events that shaped the world of Westeros for thousands of years before the series start. Cast members Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Aidan Gillen (Littlefinger), Conleth Hill (Varys), Harry Lloyd (Viserys Targaryen) and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) team up to narrate the animated telling of Aegon Targaryen’s attempts to conquer the Seven Kingdoms, written by show writer Dave Hill. 
  • From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department- Extensive two-part featurette detailing the astonishing work of Production Designer Deborah Riley and her Art Department, dissecting the process behind the creation of this season’s incredible new sets, including Dragonstone, Casterly Rock, Highgarden, the Dragonpit, and more. 
  • Fire & Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros- Revisit this season’s most pivotal moments with this behind-the-scenes featurette, including interviews with key cast and crew breaking down how fans’ favorite moments were created. 
  • Audio Commentaries - Commentaries on every episode with cast and crew including David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Jacob Anderson, Gwendoline Christie, Liam Cunningham, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, and more.


My Thoughts

How to Make Your Landscape Look Better



In winter and autumn when the rest of the garden dies, do your garden a favor and add an outdoor water fountain. A pot fountain, nestled in a boulder, adds structure and beauty to the outdoor area. Keep all-season charm in mind when selecting the size and placement of a water garden, chiefly if the material can endure the elements. Even if the water is tapped in the winter, the pot fountain or garden can be a lovely sculptural element.

Best For: Gardeners who prefer all-season concern for their courtyard fountains. A pot fountain or water garden with natural character acts as a focal point when greenery is less prominent and a subtle accent when the garden is in coloration.

Include a Stand-Alone Pond

A little stand-alone pond on a deck or patio or in a garden can be a stimulating architectural article. Plus: It can be a cheap way to begin working with water plants and possibly even a few fish.

Best For: Gardeners who want to explore into backyard fountain potentials but at a controllable level. A self-confined pond needs more upkeep but also offers more garden prospects.

Use a Minute Waterfall as a Pot Fountain Accent

As a borderline, a small water aspect is a good way to taper off and vividly end a flowerbed. For example, the large boulder assortment can signal a discontinuing point for the planted region that jewels the back patio; it also inspires visitors to admire and stop both the flowers and the stream. The sound of dwindling water adds an attractive element to the neighboring deck.

Best For: Gardeners who need the structural and sound appeal of flowing water but not essentially water plants. A small waterfall can be enclosed by plants but might need to not include water plants.

Enlarge a Stream in Garden Fountains

Particularly for bigger backyard fountains with realistic design, a stream can be an amazing way to encompass backyard fountains and add an extensive sense of adventure to an outdoor space. Garden fountains don't require to be excessively wide, but they can make use of both the hardscape articles such as rocks and a diversity of plants to mix it with the surrounding landscape.

Best For: Gardeners who want to emulate the desire of a woodland stream. As it gurgles and trickles along, a fountain stream can lead visitors to resting spots and secret niches.

Saturday, December 9, 2017

Holiday Gift Guide: JUMANJI: The Complete Animated Series DVD


JUMANJI: The Complete Animated Series DVD


Studio
Mill Creek Entertainment

Rating
Not Rated

Running Time
14 hours 25 minutes

Discs
3

Retail
$14.98

Where to Purchase
Amazon

Mill Creek Entertainment

Description

Based on the blockbuster feature film, this exciting animated series continues the amazing saga of two children, Judy and Peter Shepherd, who discover a mysterious and magical board game called Jumanji. Once they start playing, their lives will never be the same. Sucked into a swirling vortex and emerging in the parallel jungle universe of Jumanji, they meet a fellow traveler who has been trapped in the game for over 20 years. Navigating two worlds - their hometown real world and the disturbing fantasy jungle of the board game - as they try to help Alan break the spell, Judy, Peter and Alan encounter thrills and adventures that also help them learn important lessons about life.



Final Thoughts

Friday, December 8, 2017

Book Blogger Hop: December 8th - 14th




Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML


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 Maria @ A Night's Dream of Books!


If you celebrate Christmas, do you feel the need to stop reading anything but Christmas-themed romances as the holiday season starts?

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:

Not really. While I do read a few Christmas-themed books around this time of year, I also read other books.


Linky List:

The Deuce: The Complete First Season Digital HD Giveaway!



Now available on Digital HD from HBO Home Entertainment is the 1970s drama The Deuce: The Complete First Season, featuring all 8 episodes. The series will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 13, 2018.

The series is set during the early 1970s in New York City's Times Square, The Deuce gives viewers an up-close look at the gritty world of sex and crime, as the porn industry begins its climb to legitimacy, cultural permanence, and billion-dollar profitability.

This eight-episode series, which has a 93% Certified Fresh rating from Rotten Tomatoes, is “Vibrant…relentlessly interesting.” (The New York Times). The DVD and Blu-RayTM include exciting bonus content including exclusive audio commentaries from the cast and crew, including James Franco (Oscar® nominee for 127 Hours), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Oscar® nominee for Crazy Heart), and David Simon (The Wire, Treme, Show Me a Hero), cast interviews on this unique period in history, and more. 

Digital Download Bonus Features Include:
  • The Deuce in Focus- Delve inside The Deuce with Michelle MacLaren, James Franco and Roxann Dawson as they talk about bringing the show to life. 
  • The Wild West: New York in the Early '70s- Head back in time in this featurette that focuses on the frontier of the pornography business--New York City in the early 1970s--with the cast and crew of The Deuce. Creators David Simon and George Pelecanos plus James Franco and his co-stars open up about this unique period in NYC history as porn moved from the street to the mainstream screen.

Giveaway Details

  • The Deuce: The Complete First Season Digital HD
  • 2 Winners
  • Sponsored by HBO Home Entertainment
  • Must be 18+ age to enter.
  • USA Entries Only
  • Note: Blogger is responsible for sending the digital code to the winners.
  • Digital HD code can be redeemed at: www.hbodigitalhd.com/


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Holiday Gift Guide: “The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories” by Charlaine Harris



The Complete Sookie Stackhouse Stories
by Charlaine Harris


Publisher
ACE

Pages
384

Retail
$15.91

Where to Purchase

Description

For the first time together in one volume, the complete short story collection starring Sookie Stackhouse—with a new introduction from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the series, Charlaine Harris. 

About the Author

Charlaine Harris is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse and Midnight, Texas, fantasy/mystery series and the Aurora Teagarden, Harper Connelly, and Lily Bard mystery series. Her books inspired HBO's True Blood, NBC's Midnight, Texas and the Aurora Teagarden movies for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. She has lived in the South her entire life.





My Thoughts

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Holiday Gift Guide: Expelled  by James Patterson & Emily Raymond


Expelled
by James Patterson & Emily Raymond


Publisher
Jimmy Patterson Books
(an imprint of Little, Brown & Company)

Retail
$17.99

Pages
304

Where to Purchase

Description

One viral photo.

Four expelled teens.

Everyone's a suspect.

Theo Foster's Twitter account used to be anonymous--until someone posted a revealing photo that got him expelled. No final grade. No future. No fair.

Theo's resigned to a life of misery working at the local mini-mart when a miracle happens: Sasha Ellis speaks to him. Sasha Ellis knows his name. She was also expelled for a crime she didn't commit, and now he has the perfect way to get her attention: find out who set them up.

To uncover the truth, Theo has to get close to the suspects: the hacker, the quarterback, the mean girl, the vice principal, and his own best friend. What secrets are they hiding? And how can Theo catch their confessions on camera?

About the Author

James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author, best known for his many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, I Funny, and Jacky Ha-Ha. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove to everyone, from children to adults, that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over a million books to schoolkids and over forty million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family. Learn more at jamespatterson.com.



My Thoughts

Yes, it's difficult to keep up with each and every new title by James Patterson. I didn't hear about the young adult novel Expelled (which is co-written by Emily Raymond) until a few weeks after it was published. I took a chance and requested a review copy from the publisher and to my luck there were still copies available.

Expelled centers on Theo Foster, a teenager who is expelled from high school after a shocking photo went viral on his social media account. However, there is one catch - Theo is completely innocent. Yes, the photo was published from his Twitter account, but he didn't post it!
 
Theo isn't the only student expelled from the school. The high school quarterback, Parker, was kicked out due to the little fact that he's the student who was caught drinking in the now famous photo.  Sasha Ellis was accused of stealing; however, nobody knows she's the girl flashing her boobs in the photo. Theo's best friend, Jude, also got kicked out, but I don't remember exactly why he got expelled.

Theo gets the other kids to agree to do their own investigation on who posted the photo. With the help of another fellow student Felix, they come up with a plan to make a documentary that proves they are all innocent.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Expelled. Sure, it's not exactly perfect, but I thought the teenager characters acted like real teenagers. Unlike Jame Patterson's other books that are aimed toward kids, this one has adult language and some sexual references, so younger readers shouldn't be reading it. Though I do recommend the book for older teenagers/young adults.



*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.