Book Review: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files

I needed a Percy Jackson fix over Christmas break. One morning, the boys and I were up and everyone else was still sleeping. So, we went to Donutland for breakfast and then to Barnes & Noble to browse. While browsing, I stumbled across "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Demigod Files." I decided to splurge and buy it, since I must read all things Percy Jackson.

This book takes place between books 4 and 5 in the Percy Jackson series, and is a collection of 3 short stories and interviews with some various Demigods, including Percy and Annabeth. Each of the short stories features Percy on some type of mini-quest with another Demigod (remember Demigods have a human parent and a Greek god as a parent). The short stories are classic Percy Jackson, told from the first person, with lots of heroics and humor. Great stuff!

The interviews with the Demigods are also hilarious. Rick Riordan does such a great job writing these characters. I can't wait for more books...if only someone would invent time travel so I could go forward and read the rest of the books in the "Heroes of Olympus" series. Alas, we don't have a Delorean, or a flux capacitor. But if we did...88 mph here we come baby!

Author's Note: If you don't understand the time travel references I just made, I feel pity for you.

Anway, back to the book...if you are in need of a Percy Jackson fix, pick up a copy of "The Demigod Files". It's a quick read and you won't be disappointed.

A Much Needed Break

Today is my last day of my Christmas break. I'm fortunate enough to work at a company that shuts down from a day or two before Christmas to a day or three after New Year's Day. This year, I was off from Dec. 24th through today (Jan. 3rd). I feel really refreshed, and frankly, I could easily continue this break, but the expenses of the family/house say otherwise.

I spent this break doing some cooking, watching a lot of football and movies, and trying to spend time with the family. We got some new Wii games for Christmas, so we've spent time doing that. We also played some board games, and got outside when we could. Our break did include on ER visit when the kids collided on the trampoline. That resulted in 2 staples to close a wound on my youngest kid's head. He's okay, and is enjoying the extra attention.

I think the most refreshing thing of this time off was the break I took from the world. I didn't worry about work, and I didn't worry about what was going on in the world. I haven't really watched any news, other than ESPN and the local weather, and I feel great about it. The 24 hour news cycle is all about bad news and making us worry...it's no wonder not watching or reading any for 10 days is refreshing. If I didn't feel a responsibility to be informed, it would be easy to never read or watch any news again.

Tomorrow, it's back to the real world. Hopefully I'll still have my job come this time next year so I can get another much needed break.

Movie Review: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

This DC animated film should have been called, "The Rise of Supergirl" but that wouldn't have gotten me to watch it, so in a shrewd bit of marketing, "Superman/Batman: Apocalypse" was chosen as the title. Don't get me wrong, Superman and Batman are both in the movie, and they play major roles, but this movie is really about Supergirl deciding to be Supergirl.

When a meteor strikes the river in Gotham City, Batman investigates, and discovers Supergirl(a.k.a Kara Zor-El). She has no control of her powers and she is scared. So Batman, being awesome, uses Kryptonite to subdue her. Shortly after Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman get Kara into training to control her powers, she is kidnapped by Darkseid and taken to Apocalypse. For those who don't know, Darkseid is the nearly all-powerful leader of the planet Apocalypse and an arch enemy of Superman. Now, it's up to the 3 heroes, with the help of Barta (a former soldier of Darkseid), to go to Apocalypse and rescue Kara.

This is a 4 star movie. I really liked it, even though I was a bit misled by the title. There were some really cool moments, including Batman playing a game of chicken with Darkseid and winning. The voice casting was perfect. Kevin Conroy is back as Batman and Tim Daly voices Superman. Usually Michael Ironside voices Darkseid, but in this movie, Andre Braugher provided the vocal talents for Darkseid and it worked.

Overall, good stuff. I've really enjoyed these DC animated features that have been rolling out over the last 2 years or so. I hope DC continues to make these movies and I hope that Netflix keeps putting them on Instant Watch.

Happy New Year 2011!

I really don't have anything profound to say. I hope this new year finds you in good spirits and ready to face the new and upcoming challenges in the year ahead.

I know that I'm hoping to make some good strides in my faith life in 2011, as well as improving as a husband, father and worker...and golfer. Yeah, had to throw that last one in there...but, I think I have the priority set right. I wouldn't mind losing a little weight this year either.

Have a blessed New Year!

Movie Review: Inception

Alright, I was wrong about "Inception". My typical disdain for Leonardo DiCaprio movies kept me from seeing this one in the theater, even though Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors and Ellen Page is one of the best young actresses in Hollywood. My disdain for DiCaprio started with "Romeo and Juliet" and has just continued to fester...and that festering nearly stopped me from seeing a really good movie on a really big screen.

Enter my friend Chad...he of the 110", 7.1 or 9.1 surround sound home theater. Last night, we had movie night at Chad's house, and "Inception" was the feature. This is one you want to see on as big of a screen as possible. The effects are amazing. I would definitely recommend Blu-ray for this show.

The premise is kinda cool. DiCaprio is Dom Cobb, a man who makes his living sharing dreams with people and then stealing their most intimate secrets from the dream. He is recruited by a rich industrialist to plant an idea in his rival's head (i.e. inception). Cobb recruits a team of other dream warriors and they set a plan in motion to jump into this man's dreams and plant the seeds of an idea that will grow to meet the master plan of the rich industrialist who is paying the bills. Think a sci-fi version of "Ocean's Eleven" meets "James Bond".

Overall, this is a 4 star movie. I still don't like Leonardo DiCaprio as an actor, but I was able to get past that for "Inception." The rest of the cast, including Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Ken Wattanabe, Michael Caine and Tom Berenger helped overcome my dislike for DiCaprio. And, Nolan's directing was top notch once again. The action and effects were really good, and the story kept you guessing until the very end. You really have to pay attention to this one. And the ending...well, it keeps you guessing a little more.

TV Series Review: Psych, Season 5

"If you watch only one show...on Wednesday night...around 10 pm, make it this one!"

Yes, we are now 5 seasons into one of the greatest TV series in the history of TV..."Psych". Our heroes, fake psychic Shawn Spencer and his sidekick Burton Guster are back for more crime solving hysteria, only this time, they decided to throw in a few more serious Shawn moments.

Overall, I loved this season, though I found there were more "clunker" episodes than in past seasons. There were also some significant high points, such as the return of Cary Elwes as the uber thief Pierre Despereaux and the season's greatest episode, "Not Even Close Encounters" guest starring Freddie Prinze Jr. as a gigantic nerd. Also, in continuing to pay homage to the 80's and 90's, the writers brought in spoof episodes of "Twin Peaks" and "Police Academy." Overall, lots of good stuff, making this another 5 star season.

I do have to admit that I'm starting to get concerned. I don't see how they can keep this going for more than another season or 2. Some of the episodes were starting to seem like a reach. But, there were enough good shows to keep me wanting more, so I guess season 5 was a success. Can't wait for season 6 to start next summer.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

This is starting to become a food blog. I've recently subscribed to allrecipes.com, and after what shall forever be known as the chili cooking disaster of 2010, I went in search of a chili recipe. My wife really likes turkey chili and we both like black beans, so I was looking for something that used ground turkey and could easily accept black beans. I found it in this recipe!

I did modify it slightly, and I cooked it in the crockpot for about 6 hours. I fed 7 people (5 adults) and there wasn't a drop of chili left when we were done.

Here's the recipe with my modifications:

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned kidney beans - drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 ounce) can canned black beans - drained and rinsed
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilis
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Emeril's Southwest Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Brown the turkey in a skillet with the olive oil. Once browned, add the onion and cook until tender.

Transfer the meat and onions to the crockpot and add all the other ingredients. Stir and cook on HI for 2 hours. Then lower the temperature to LO and let it cook for another 4 hours. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese.

This is a fairly mild chili, which was really appreciated by my wife. I added more pepper at the table to take the heat up a little bit. Some additional cayenne pepper would also work nicely in this recipe to take the heat up a bit. We will definitely be making this one again at our house.