Monday, July 30, 2012

July 2012 "Wrap-Up"

Wow, what a crazy month it's been!
Anyone who knows me, knows that when I'm not with my family, then I'm most likely at the movie theater; my home-away-from-home...
Needless to say, the Aurora/Colorado killings hit pretty close to home, especially since my wife has applied at the hospital, right there in Aurora, and I frequent many midnight showings.
It's hard not to think that I could end up in such a horrifying situation.
(chances are pretty slim, yet not only does someone now need to worry about other lunatics out there, they now need to worry about all of the other people carrying guns to protect themselves - I really don't want to be caught in a senseless cross-fire!)
I'm all for men protecting their families and all, but no one needs an automatic rifle to do so, nor do they need semi-automatic pistols! (a six-shooter is more than sufficient)


I'm not here to talk about gun laws however - if you want to know where I stand on that, you only need to watch the Piers Morgan interview with Michael Moore (on CNN) discussing the Colorado killings - I pretty much agree 100% with everything that Michael Moore says in that interview.


And what is this whole thing with Chick-Fil-A?!?
People are in such an uproar simply because the CEO stated his personal beliefs regarding traditional, heterosexual marriage. He has never once discriminated against homosexuals themselves, he simply stated what he, personally, believes.
We now have Mayors, Congressmen, Senate, etc arguing about this whole situation - don't you think the gun law situation is a little more important right now than homosexuals getting their feelings hurt?!?




Enough of all of that - I'm not here to preach a sermon - I'm here to simply state my favorite Books, Movies, and Games of the Month, so on with the show:

Best Book(s) of the Month:
If you've read my recent posts on G+ then this will come as no surprise...
This month I read 'The Vampire Nations' trilogy by Billie Sue Mosiman.


In paperback format (which is how I read them, since I I don't take my Nook or phone to the pool) they are titled:
Red Moon Rising, Malachi's Moon, and Craven Moon


In digital format, they are titled Legions of the Dark, Rise of the Legend, and Hunter of the Dead
(I'm not sure why the title changes, just giving you both options, so you know)


If you do plan on reading this trilogy digitally, you can purchase all 3 books under 'Scrolls of the Dead' and I highly recommend this trilogy!
(you can read my thoughts, on each individual book, either on my G+ profile, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks - with the exception of iBooks, all of the reviews are under their paperback titles)


Runner-Up:
'Pisswidget' - by Franklin E. Wales


If you haven't taken my advice and read anything by Wales yet, this is the perfect chance to do so! 
This is only a 12-page short story, and shows you exactly why you should be reading everything that he writes!
If you are a fan of Stephen King's 'Misery' then get this short story now - you will love it!


Other books that I read this month:
Odd Thomas - by: Dean Koontz


Best Movie of the Month:
The Dark Knight Rises
(aside from Heath Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight, this is just as good, if not better than The Dark Knight! Yeah, I said it!)


Runner-Up:
The Three Stooges
(over-the-top, slap-stick humor at its finest!)


Other Movies that I watched this month:
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Safe House
Machine Gun Preacher
Mirror Mirror
The Amazing Spiderman (a completely unnecessary "reboot"!)
Dark Shadows (I enjoyed this one much more than I expected!)
Savages (John Travolta himself called this one the 'Pulp Fiction' of now... so not!)
Man on a Ledge
This Means War
Seeking Justice
Battleship (watching this one made me wish that I had watched Asylum's mockbuster 'American Warships' - it couldn't have been any worse!)
American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars
Red Tails
Big Miracle
Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Young Adult
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the 2011 re-make - just watch the original!)
Meeting Evil
Rogue River
Some Guy Who Kills People
Chimpanzee


Best iPhone App of the Month:
I was expecting that Orc: Vengeance was going to take this slot, yet I honestly can't say for sure - the game just came out this past Thursday (it's a Role-Playing, Dungeon-Crawler style game that I've been looking forward to) yet it came out with a glitch. I've only been able to play, literally, the 1st five minutes of the game, before being, unceremoniously, kicked out of the game! :(
Here's to hoping a fix/update comes out real soon, as it started off great and looks really cool!


Runner-Up:
Reckless Getaway
(hard to put this one down - a fun little addicting game!)


Other iPhone Games that I played this month:
Last month I mentioned that I play a lot of Zynga's "With Friends" Games - in my down time from those, I'll play 'Hooked on Words' which gives me some great solo practice time...


I'm looking forward to Phoshor Games' upcoming RPG title 'Horn' so while I've been waiting, I've checked out their 1st iPhone game called 'Dark Meadow' - pretty cool!


Also, I've been playing a fun, realistic shooter game called 'Gun-Zombie: Hell's Gate'
and, of course, Rovio's newest game 'Amazing Alex'


Well, that's all for this month folks, until next month...


Jason