Best Game Ever!!! - Doggie Doo

My son was given a gift card for xmas and when given the chance to spend it, he bought Doggie Doo.  This is a game where you feed a dog and then it poops and you have to scoop up the poop and whoever gets the most poop wins.

Now. I know what you're thinking. This is the stupidest game concept ever.  Who on earth would want to play that?  Aside from a 6 yr old boy that is.  Well, it turns out - this game is AWESOME!  And I'm not just saying that.

The food is basically Flarp! (the exclamation point is part of the name of the toy).  For those of you who don't have kids, Flarp! is a noise putty.  It makes farting sounds when you stick your fingers in it.  Which, as ever mom of a little boy knows is high humor.

Anyway, you stick the Flarp! into the dog and then suction it out his rear using an air pump.  As the Flarp! moves through your dog it makes the most disgusting sounds.  It is impossible not to laugh while playing this game. When the flarp emerges from the dogs posterior, it can flop out or fly out depending on how much air it has behind it. It never seems to come out the same way twice. But it is always entertaining when it does.

Long story short, this is a REALLY fun and easy game to play and will have you doubled over in laughter while playing it.  I highly recommend it.

Chill Out Dude- Chillar Party Review

I've got netflix on the wii. One of the great things about it is that there are a lot of bollywood movies on demand.  The most recent movie I saw was Chillar Party. It was an excellent movie and I rated it as 5 stars.  Here's why.

It is a film about kids and discrimination and love and friendship and loyalty, the plight of orphans and fighting back against people in power who are trying to crush the little guy for political gain. I cried quite a bit during this movie.  However, that's not why I rated it so highly.  For a film about kids, it was REALLY well acted.  I believed every single kid was exactly who they were.  This was a really well told story that was well directed and extremely well acted.  It is a great movie and worth seeing.

The movie also stirred up quite a bit of emotions in me because the kids in this movie have what should be a typical childhood, yet, in America, we have lost that. My kid doesn't have the opportunity to just go out and about unsupervised with a group of neighborhood kids who are friends by virtue of living in the same community. Sure, there are other kids in our neighborhood, but only one parent is willing to let their kids go free range. We happen to really like these free range kids and they treat my son great. However, most of the other parents are very suspicious about them and won't let their kids out to play with them at all. Result, even though we have a great neighborhood for kids to play in, we don't have a gang of kids out and about playing learning how to be kids from other kids.  It's sad really. Because I do think our kids need to unstructured unsupervised time.

I know I'm not the only parent who feels this way. My friend Cheryl just wrote a blog post at A Little Bit Quirky on exactly this topic. Anyway, it's a great movie. The story is wonderful and quite touching and you are so proud of these kids, that maybe, if enough American parents watch it, they may just start allowing their kids to go free range like they should.

Cara Cara - Oh How I Love Thee

I discovered Cara Cara oranges the other day. They are a variety of navel orange with a gorgeous red flesh and a taste that is sensational. And yes, the color in the photo  is really what they look like. You wouldn't think an orange would actually look like that, but this one does. It is also very juicy. I seem to manage to get juice squirted into one of my eyes every time I eat one. As far as I am concerned, it is totally worth the pain.

The good news is that as I write this, they are in season (Nov/Dec) as they are an early orange.  And, they are now available in the US, which is how I found them. So, if you are browsing your produce aisle and you see a bag of oranges with a photo that looks photoshop-ed, see if it's a Cara Cara - and if it is, BUY THEM!  You won't be disappointed  They have taken the place of my beloved Honeybell Tangelo as my favorite citrus.  I now look at my tangelo tree and think - if only we had planted a Cara Cara.

I love this orange so much I have written a poem in it's honor. Enjoy.

Cara Cara, oh how I love thee

Your red flesh simply delights me

You're so easy to peel 

And your taste so unreal

That I now wish I had my own tree

Movie Review: Call of Cthulhu

Simply put, if you don't know Lovecraft or Cthulhu, you ain't a geek. That being said - I would give this particular movie 4 stars.  3 for how well the story was told (it was alright - which is not their fault - Lovecraft stories are notorously hard to translate to film) and a 5 for how well they technically put it together, through a process they call Mythoscope, which blends old style black and white silent movie techniques with new style com-positing techniques. The effect is wonderful.

I really enjoyed this movie though I had to explain parts of it to my husband, who, bless him for trying, isn't all that geeky. I love him dearly anyway.

The stop motion of Cthulhu was great as was really all the scenes in R'leyh. The best part of this DVD was watching the extra features afterwards. It is amazing how they put this thing together and made it look so good.  Yes, parts of it are cheesily put together, but that adds to the charm of the Mythoscope technique. There are clips of Young Wilcox in color orating his story (because it's silent and there is no script he was improvising), clips of what the actual sets looked like (yes, the ocean is done with fabric and glitter), and how they com-posited the cult in the forest scenes together.  All in all an enjoyable movie to watch. Hope the HPL Historical Society makes a few more.

Movie Review: Lobsterman From Mars

Got this on a whim from Netflix. LOVED IT!  Low budget, intentionally. It's really a movie within a movie. The only annoying bit is that they keep breaking out of the movie to remind you of that, but that's ok, because you get to enjoy a performance by Tony Curtis.

It was too scary for my son, but my husband and I still enjoyed it. The dialogue is hysterical in places. There is a gumshoe who is in the movie for no good reason and whose monologues keep getting interrupted and he doesn't even have the best lines.

Lobster Man From Mars is high on camp. The monsters are wonderful. You have flying furry bat lobsters (and of course you can see the wires). A gorilla lobster helmeted thing and of course, Lobsterman himself. If you enjoyed The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, and let's face it, who didn't? You will enjoy this movie.

Book Review: The Happy Humanist

 I was given the book, The Happy Humanist, to read and review by it's author.  It's a nice short book, less than 100 pages, and I agree with everything in it. But then, that's because I'm a Humanist myself.

This book isn't about the Humanist philosophy, which isn't mentioned or defined at all.  It is a book about how a Humanist views the self. How we view our place in the universe.  How we view ourselves in relationship to other people and why we view ourselves this way.  Of course, since the word Humanist isn't mentioned in the book at all, it is only referenced in it's title, you have to constantly remind yourself that he is in fact writing from a Humanist perspective.

That being said, his advice is good. Same advice I give in my book (see link on the right) I kept thinking as I read the book that it was all rather Buddhist in it's approach, like the part about being detached, but not too detached.  There is a reason why it sounds Buddhist and that is because the teachings of Siddhartha were Humanistic in nature.

Do I recommend this book?  Yes. It's a bit academic and dry, but all the important bits about how we Humanists view life, the universe and everything are in there. The only downside is that it isn't always clear what his recommendations are for living life. They are sometimes hidden in the larger discussion. It's also  not easily quotable. I kept wanting to share some of the insights, but they won't fit in a twitter post. I realize that might be a selling point for some people actually.

The real question is whether this100 page book is worth its $16,95 US list price. That, I can't answer for you. As the Happy Humanist points out repeatedly, you are the only one who can determine what is best for you.

The Krays: Movie Review

This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I've wanted to see if for years, but hadn't gotten around to it. And yes, I admit that the only reason I wanted to see if was because the Kemp Brothers star in it and yes, I am a huge Spandau Ballet Fan.

Anyhoo, turns out this is a really excellent movie. It's really well done. Well acted, well cut, well directed, and at times, a slight bit arty, but not to the point that detracts from the story telling. It's just really good. And yes, there are parts that are hard to watch for the sadistic brutality of what is happening, but still, worth watching.

If you like gangster movies, this is a good one. Very compelling.

Fablehaven - Book Review

I just finished reading Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and really enjoyed it. I picked it up on impulse at my local library. I didn't have much time to browse because my 6 yr old son was with me.

Anyway, it's a teen oriented book (characters are teenagers), but by the end I was totally into what was going on. I liked the world Mull created. It's simple, but nice and dramatic at points. I'm actually interested in getting his next book in the series, though I'm not sure my library has it (will have to check).

Anyway, it was a quick easy read. Not too deep, but definitely satisfying and just what I needed after the slog that was 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

I actually love the litter box now!

We are cat people. And as all cat people know, the litter box is a pain in the patootie.  Well, not anymore. I really can't say enough about how much I love the new Breeze Litter Box by Tidy Cat . I've sung it's praises to complete strangers in the market and encouraged my friends with cats to transition to it. It's wonderful.

I've owned cats my entire life. And the worst part about them is cleaning the litter box. No one wants to do it. It's stinky and smelly and even though we all know we are supposed to clean it a couple of times a day, no one does. I think all cat owners agree - we do put it off. And then, there's the fact of litter tracking.  It doesn't matter where you put it, you end up with bits of litter all over your house. With Breeze, there is no litter tracking.

Here's what I like about it.  It's easy to use. My cats love it (no transition problems at all). In fact it became their favorite litter box and they stopped using the other one entirely. There is no pee to scoop up. It drains down into a pee pad beneath - which you just toss into the trash (don't even have to touch it).  The "litter" is actually little clay pellets.  And when the cat poops, they don't cover it. So, yes, it does stink, but that's good because it encourages you to scoop the poop immediately and toss it into the toilet for flushing!  Which, lets face it, I don't know anyone who actually flushes flush-able cat litter.

Anyway, yeah - super clean. No nasty smells. No avoiding the litter box because it's nasty and you don't want to deal with it. And NO litter tracking.  Yes, it does cost a bit more then regular boxes, but after about 6 months of using one, I can say, I would never go back to old fashioned litter ever again.

The litter itself is good for one month. And each bag of litter is exactly what you need. So no over or under-filling at all. The pads are good for about a week each (unless your cat is a super pee'er), so one bag should last you a month.

At the end of the month, since you are tossing all the litter out, you simply clean out the box, squirt it down with disinfectant and then put it all back together again.  It is so easy to maintain it's actually a joy to maintain and so you end up maintaining it like you are supposed to, which - is nothing short of a miracle when you are talking about litter boxes.  If you have a cat - do yourself a favor and get yourself one.

Freakin Awesome!!!

I've just seen The Mummy Tomb of the Dragon Emperor for my 3rd time in as many days. My son, who is six, is currently in love with this movie.  I have to agree. It's friggin AWESOME!  There are Yetis.  Awesome, kick ass yetis. The big battle is between terra cotta warriors and a bunch of zombies. The zombies are the good guys. And it's awesome! There is nothing not to like about this movie.

Extra special bonus, my son has been completely obsessed with Emperor Chin for about 1/2 a year now and with the great wall and with the Terra Cotta Warriors. And so, putting that all together into a mummy movie?  He's in heaven.  And yes, he is aware that the real emperor probably wasn't mummified and wasn't turned into Terra Cotta, he just loves the idea of it.  Oh - and did I forget to mention that the evil emperor guy has super powers?  Yeah - he can control the elements. As far as evil bad guys go - he rocks.

Spoiler alert - The Yak, yacks. It's funny. Trust me.

The Introduction was the best part of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

I did enjoy this book and I'm glad I read it but ... the introduction by Ray Bradbury was the best part of this book. If you are going to get a copy to read - get this one - specifically for the introduction. As for the book itself, well, the action parts and story line are great. The problem is that Verne seems to have felt that he needed to include every single bit of background research he did into the book. He didn't seem to waste anything he had found in in his research.. He goes on for several pages listing the types of fish that can be found in a particular area. Whenever we come across a sunken ship we are treated to several pages of the history of the ship and the ships that preceded it into whatever cove we are in along with who actually made it back to make the report. Some of this stuff is interesting, but mostly, it's unnecessary filler. I found myself skipping over the taxonomic lessons and skipping to the actual story line.

The story line is great. Totally enjoyed it. Spoiler - they get attacked by 10 giant squids, not one. They also get trapped under the ice at the south pole and have lots of other adventures you don't see in the movies. All in all a worthwhile read, but it is a bit tedious because about half of the book is devoting to listing fish and their attributes (this one had a spotted tail with a blue underbelly, the next one had rings and a white belly and on and on and on.)

Do I recommend it? Well ... yeah - good story, better then what they show in the movies, you just need to gloss over the endless filler.

Raisels - where have you been all my life?

I was at Walmart today. Don't give me grief - I refuse to feel guilty about it. I can buy locally grown chicken there for half of what I can buy brand name chickens at a supermarket. Anyway, I was in the dried fruit section when I saw a package of Raisels sour orange.  I was drawn to it. I wanted it. Still, it could be horrid. Should I try it?  Then I realized they also had sour watermelon.  I must try these!!!!

So I asked an old man walking past his preference - orange, obviously.  Got it, brought it home, fell in love.


Here's what this stuff is like. It's a raisin dusted with natural orange flavor and sugar.  It's tastes like you are eating a sour orange candy gummy, except, your actually eating an raisin. It's simply delish! Ingredients are actually quite good. Not as good as a plain old raisin, but way better then sour candy. Raisels Sour Orange contain  Golden raisins, sugar, natural flavor, citric acid, ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and sulfur dioxide (standard for all dried fruit).  Not bad.

So, if you are  fan of sour candy, but would actually like to be eating something somewhat healthy - check these out.  I am so totally getting the sour watermelon next time I am at the store.

Sphinx puzzler

My son insisted I get him this model when he was about 4 1/2. He was going through an Egyptian phase. He of course, didn't put it together. I did. However, It turns out to be a lot of fun. As I had never done one before it took a little bit of time to figure out the instructions, but once I did it went together well. We opted to glue it and my son has played with it happily ever since. And yes, it's a model, but that's just how he roles. To him, it's a toy.

For parents with geek kids into Egypt - go ahead - enjoy yourself. As far as these 3d models go, this is apparently a fairly easy one to figure out.

Battle Ships

My son was given a couple of toy battle ships for his birthday. They are wonderful. The first was the Mighty Mac 31 inch aircraft carrier. It's neat. It has several planes, a storage area so nothing get's lost, lights, a variety of sounds and a launching mechanism.  He loves it.

The 2nd ship is a 30 inch battle ship. It has turrets that spin and everything is easily taken off and put back on again, which is good because these ships get blown up/sunk a lot and everyone knows that if you blow up a battle ship all the turrets are blown off it as well.  This ship came with 3 planes, a helicopter, tank and jeep. The extras are all diecast and quite nice. Again, there is a nice little slide out area to store all the extras.


Both toys say they are for ages 3 and up, but my 6 yr old loves them.

My only complaint as a parent is that they are 30 ish inches long. Which is great for my son and actually a good fun size to play with. But for me as the mom, where the heck can I store them out of the way when he isn't playing with them?  I haven't sorted that out yet. Still, my son likes them so that has to count for something. 

This really glows

My son got this for his 6th birthday. And I am embarrassed that I don't know who gave it to him. We were at a splash park and you know how kids are when they open presents. Anyway, to whoever gave this to us thank you.

My son loves it. He plays with it and doodles on it and does the stencils and everything. Now, this might not seem like a big deal for a 6 yr old, but mine hates to draw, color, write or do anything that requires holding a pencil, crayon, pen or marker. The fact that he can't seem to put this down is nothing short of amazing!

It is also nicely put together. Everything it comes with has it's spot so it's easy to keep it together. The only downside is that the tablet does glow in the dark on it's own. It's not really a big deal, just saying it does. The fun bonus is that the glow pen is like a black light and my son has been playing with that as a sort of flashlight on it's own.

I find I like playing with it too. It's a lot of fun. So, if you are a parent, whose child is resisting drawing and you are thinking of trying different things, I do recommend this.

This is really silly

Fruit & Nut is one of those movies you just have to give yourself over to. It is incredibly silly. My favorite bits were the old man dance sequence and when the transvestite mob, mobs our hero in a street dance sequence.

The story line is, well, ridiculous, but enjoyable. Basically a doofus who reminds me a lot of a cute chubby Indian version of Fred Armisen manages to get himself embroiled in a plot to destroy Mumbai and somehow manages to doofus his way through to solving the case. He is super cute in his doofusness.  However, this movie is so silly, it really is impossible to predict how or where this movie will go. Just go along for the ride and enjoy it.

What you should know is that this is a Bollywood movie, so it's in Hindi with English subtitles. It's also a musical. On the plus side, it's only about 1 1/2 hours long, so rather short for Bollywood. But, if you like silly Bollywood musicals, you'll like this movie.

Netflix link: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Fruit_Nut/70132319?trkid=496624

Dr Dreadful is wonderful

Bought this for my son's 6th birthday. It's kind of like an easy bake oven for boys but without the oven. He really likes it.  My main concern prior to purchase was that there wouldn't be enough of the mixes to make more then one or two things. Turns out there are plenty of the mixes so that you won't have to buy refills for a long time.  All the portions are really nice as well.

Long story short: It is simple, easy to use, easy to clean, super gross and actually, quite tasty.

My other concern was that we wouldn't be able to use this for anything but the official zombie brain and barf concoctions. However, you can use this for a variety of things. Yesterday my son was mixing a saltwater flour concoction in the brain. He really likes measuring and stirring and mixing and creating. If you have a little mad scientist, this is actually quite a nice toy.  Just be warned, zombie barf is a lot like drinking snot - tasty snot, but still, the consistency of snot.