August 2012 "Wrap-Up"

In late August, of 2007, my wife & I (with our kids in tow) begin traveling the U.S. looking for the ideal place to settle down to raise our family; and here we are, almost exactly 5 years to the day...
Come September 1st, we will no longer be traveling, but will be making our new home in Knoxville, TN! We are super excited, as we have been here, since March, and have already fallen in love with the area (only a hop, skip, and a jump away from the Great Smoky Mountains!) It is absolutely beautiful here (can't wait to see it in the Fall!) and there is a ton of stuff to do with our children (primarily all of the nature/hiking trails!)

With that said, it has been a relatively busy month, and I am expecting next month to be even busier (as we move into a new place, start the kids in school, etc)

So, on with this month's wrap-up:

Best Book(s) of the Month:
We have another tie this month, as both of these books deserve the #1 spot!

1st up is 'The Roswell Conspiracy'  - by: Boyd Morrison
Crazy story behind this one... 
This is the 3rd book in the "Tyler Locke" series, of which I am a Huge Fan! 
I own the previous two books in  print format (the 1st 'The Ark' in an advance reader's copy and the 2nd 'The Vault' in hardcover) Part of my slight OCD calls for me to continue a series that I already own in print, in print. However, this book was only released, in the U.S., as an E-Book only (the book is in print, everywhere else!)
*If you are interested in the reasons behind why this is so, just Google Boyd Morrison's 'A Detour in the Publishing Journey' (a Huffpost Arts & Culture article)
Basically, he got shafted, here in the U.S., and in order for us fans to continue the journeys of Tyler Locke, he self-published the novel himself (thank you Boyd!!)
And the best part - it's only $4!!! (and I would have gladly paid the $30 hardcover price, as this book, as well as the others in the series, is worth every penny!)
If you haven't read these books yet, do yourself a favor, and pick them up - you will not be disappointed!

2nd up is 'Horns' - by: Joe Hill
Now, I've had this book, in hardcover, since it came out in 2010, as I enjoyed both Hill's 'Heart-Shaped Box' and his comic book series 'Locke & Key'.
Sometimes when I buy a book, it gets shuffled around when I find something new and unexpected, as was the case with 'Horns'. However, when I heard that Alexandre Aja ('High Tension') is going to be directing the adaptation (with Daniel Radcliffe) I immediately dusted it off and started reading, and the book blew Hill's other works out of the water!
All I have to say about this book is that Stephen King has got to be a proud father!
I can imagine King reading this book - it had to have been like he was reading something that he wrote, without having written it!
Now, he can have an understanding of exactly how his fans feel reading his books!

Runner-Up:
'I Am Number Four: The Lost Files (#3) The Fallen Legacies' - by: Pittacus Lore
For fans of this series, this is a great read, as it is written from the Mogodorian's perspective - very cool!
(the next book, in the actual series - 'The Rise of Nine' just came out yesterday, so look for my thoughts on that one, next month - I can't wait to start it!)

Best Movie of the Month:
I didn't really see a movie this month that "wowed me"
(our oldest son came for a visit, so I spent most of that time, showing him around town, etc)
I had planned on seeing 'Expendables 2' & 'ParaNorman' in the theater, however it was then that my wife was in talks of staying on permanently, and there is a pretty decent 2nd-run movie theater, here in town, so I'm thinking about just saving my money (the new iPhone is getting ready to come out after all!) and patiently waiting for 1st-run movies to hit the 2nd-run theater...

Movies that I watched this month:
(in the order that I watched them)

Detention
Bad Ass
Fred 3: Camp Fred (I hated the 1st movie, didn't mind the 2nd one, and hated this one, so I've told my kids, "no more "Fred"!)
Arthur Christmas (if I had to pick one, this one would be my favorite of the month! Definitely a must-see during the holidays!)
Total Recall (this year's re-make - just makes you miss Verhoeven!)
Malibu Shark Attack
Shark Week
Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932)
American Reunion
Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows
Snow White and the Huntsman (if you're going to watch one of this year's Snow White films, stick with 'Mirror, Mirror' as it was the better film)
Superman vs The Elite
Margaret
Men in Black III
The Boogeyman
True Bloodthirst
Project X
Silent House (last year's re-make - on-par with the original)

Best iPhone App of the Month:
Again, I really didn't watch a whole lot of films or play a whole lot of games this month...

I have, however, come to the conclusion that my current iPhone (I have a 3GS) is going to pretty much become obsolete after the new one comes out.
The last few games that I have attempted to buy ('Horn', 'The Walking Dead', 'Justice League: Earth's Final Defense', and 'Pitfall' being the primary ones) will not work on my phone :(

Until next month,

Jason