Entries Tagged 'entertainment' ↓

If you or your kids are fans of this game

or this,

then you just have to watch this:

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At their urging, the following is a guest post written by my children:

You may have heard of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, the movie that came out Friday, February 12, 2010.

Many people have been calling it a Harry Potter knock off. To begin with, the book series is not another Potter. The only comparison one could make is that the main characters are two boys and a girl, and the male protagonist doesn’t fully know about his true powers until he goes somewhere away from home (Camp Half Blood/Hogwarts) to train.

Would Potter ever go to Vegas?!

We both read The Lightning Thief (along with the rest of the books in the series) at a young age and were captivated by how exciting it was. Both of us still consider it the best book we’ve ever read (tied with Stephen Colbert’s I Am America (And So Can You!) and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird). We have also read the Harry Potter books and seen the movies and the Lightning Thief series differs in many ways. The Lightning Thief is a fun way for kids and teens to learn about Greek mythology.

The Lightning Thief brings Greek mythology to the modern world, with the gods and goddesses hidden at the top of the empire state building. Camp Half Blood is the where the demigods gather, the only place they are safe. Demigods are the offspring of a god and mortal, so they are half-human and half-god. Harry Potter, however, is about witchcraft and wizardry. Magic. Contrast that with gods and Greek mythology. Nowhere close to the magic that is described in the Harry Potter series.

Have you seen this promo, where water roars behind Percy?

Percy is the son of Poseidon (god of the seas, which must be noted because the naysayers probably didn’t even know that), not a recently-trained-in-magic Quidditch captain. The people who accused The Lightning Thief of being a cheap knock-off probably didn’t even know that the book was released in 2005, before five of the Harry Potter movies were released. Also, one could make the argument (an inane, ignorant argument) that The Half Blood Prince and Camp Half Blood have something to do with each other. Well, unless Snape’s dad was Zeus or Ares or any other god, they have no connection except for the words “Half Blood.”

Anyway, the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of books was hugely successful, a New York Times #1 Bestseller and given five-star reviews by many, including the writers of this article. The people who criticized The Lightning Thief probably did no (or very little) research and just looked at the ad for the movie while tweeting “Am I the only one that thinks that Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is a total Harry Potter cop-out? #iamnotamused.” (@clawtooth35) or “hilarious: billboards for ‘Percy Jackson and the lightning thief’ don’t even try to hide the fact that it’s a facile Harry Potter ripoff…” (@estherdbrazil) or “the lightning thief dd not lve up 2 my expctations. almost juvenile for my liking. it’s like harry potter with a better looking protagonist.” (@bookletjeff) Uh huh. To quote @pfpaul, “BF#1: “The Lightning Thief looks stupid. It’s exactly like Harry Potter. Different people, same names.” That doesn’t even… “what?!”

Exactly. Different people, same names?! No they don’t…oh, whatever.

We just disagree.

Go see The Lightning Thief.

Let us know what you think.

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Have you heard about this action/adventure movie starring a couple teenage guys and a girl who defeat villains in the midst of great special effects? You know, dark haired protagonist, no glasses. Wait…does he wear glasses? NO, he does not. He most definitely does not wear glasses. Were you thinking of Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione? Oh no, there’s a new group in town and they don’t have English accents. Sure, Chris Columbus, who directed a few of the Harry Potter movies also directed Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, but don’t expect another Potter.

First of all, can you imagine Potter using an iPhone or iPod Touch? Ever? HA!

These American kids know how to use technology! W00T!

Our kids loved the Percy Jackson book series and enjoyed the movie. They tire of the comparisons between it and the Potter series. Actually, I wish the promos would have downplayed the Chris Columbus connection and any other similarities.  Millions of Potter fanatics do not want anything to try to replace or follow Potter. Attempting to draw similarities was a mistake.

Instead, I recommend putting Potter aside and opening yourself up to something new or, at least something a little different, based on myth and legends.

If you’re looking for respectable teen action heroes for your teens or preteens, I believe this is your film (and I hope an entire series of films). In it, smart, brave, attractive kids discover their demigod selves and embark on a quest which eventually leads them to Zeus and Poseidon. In fact, it’s a fairly good introduction to Greek mythology.

Exercise caution with sensitive tweens or younger kids, though.  Ms. Dodds’ morphing into a flying fury and the minotaur chasing Percy and Grover were quite frightening scenes, though probably the scariest moments of the film. After those two, the intensity eases a bit.

Kids who have read the book series (or at least the first book, “The Lightning Thief”) will enjoy the movie but may quibble over differences and omissions. The parts of the book that were necessarily left out of the movie are not crucial to the storyline. My kids believe that the few aspects that were missing can be easily added in to future movies.

Logan Lerman (as Percy Jackson) strikes the right balance between seeming a little awkward with his new-found abilities and being as confident and strong as one would expect from a demigod. He’s more like Peter in Heroes than Potter at Hogwarts. No wands, just hands (and occasionally a sword).

The attraction between Percy and Annabeth was believable (I don’t really care that Annabeth wasn’t blond) and Luke was a terrific antagonist.

Bottom line? Get over Potter and give this movie a chance.

To satisfy those of you who rely on our video game recommendations, here are our favorites for 2009.

I’ll provide more detail and artwork soon.

For the Sony PS3:

Madden NFL 10

DJ Hero (Bundle with Turntable)

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Rated E 10+ This is a must-have for the boys on my lists.)

Little Big Planet (This game allows for creativity; the kids can create their own game levels! Don’t be fooled by the cover, it’s best for older kids 10-12.)

Need for Speed: Shift

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And for older kids only:

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For those of you asking us for recommendations for board games this year (and even for those who didn’t), here’s a quick list.

We’ll fill in more information about each game soon.

Quelf

Quarto

Blokus (and/or Blokus Trigon)

Blurt

Monopoly

Bop It (not a board game, but highly addictive & fun!)

Apples to Apples

Milles Bornes

Electronic Battleship

Last Word

What do you think of when you hear the word, “stationery”? Do you enjoy spending time in Hallmark stores and boutiques like “The Papery”? Or do you cringe at the thought?

I like paper. Not in a Dunder-Mifflin kind of way. No, I like writing papers. When I open my mailbox and see a handwritten envelope with an address label of one of my friends, I smile, walk quickly back into the house, put the stack of mail on the counter, then pull out the special envelope and put it at my place at our kitchen table.

I delight in its existence. I can’t wait to open it.

But I do.

I make a cup of tea, kick off my shoes and slowly sit in my chair, eagerly awaiting the discovery of the contents of the special envelope.

“Mmm…nice stationery,” I think as I flip over the card.

Yeah. It’s a moment for me.

When I was a teen, my friends and I loved to discover beautiful papers or fun cards. We wrote letters to each other even though we lived less than a few miles away. We wrote to each other at summer camp. My favorite stationery was a fold-over Snoopy note card that served as its own envelope. Fold the bottom up and the top down, then turn it around and boom! There’s your address box. Sort of like a postcard, sort of like an envelope.

Later,

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Do you think it’s important for your kids to play sports? How about music?

I believe that music benefits our kids, and I strongly encourage parents to support funding for school music programs.  They help our children in more ways than many people know or acknowledge. For one man’s knowledgeable perspective, watch this video:

As parents, we hope to instill good values in our children, but how do we know when they learn the lessons or whether they even hear us?

Over the years I’ve wondered…

Do they learn from what we do? How can we be sure?

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a list of lessons, or a credo, if you will?

Then, one day last week, my son handed me a typewritten sheet with the heading, “Life and How to Live It.”  He explained that, after teaching the class George Washington’s 110 Rules of Civility, his teacher told the class that she wanted each of them to write a credo.

This is what he wrote:

Life and How to Live it

• Keep your head level. You’re no better than the next guy.
• Stick together. If a bunch of fish group together, it scares away the shark.
• Always remember what’s important in life. Your hair doesn’t matter as much as your SAT score.
• Be yourself. Just because someone else jumps off a bridge doesn’t mean you have to.
• Don’t depend on others to make you happy. If someone doesn’t like you anymore, it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.
• Keep a good balance of work and play. Ever seen The Shining?
• If you think of it as fun, it’ll go by a lot faster.
• Violence isn’t always the answer.
• Remember to give as much as you get and get as much as you give.
• Always know what path you’re on—and how what you’re doing will affect you long-term.
• Always know which way is up and which way is down.
• STUDY. What college you go to matters a lot more than Sunday Night Football.
• Sleep actually DOES matter. You aren’t any cooler if you stay up till midnight.
• Whenever you do anything that you think might not seem right, even the slightest bit, ask yourself: Would I like this if someone did this to me?
• And always, ALWAYS, be nicest to the ones you love.

After reading it, I smiled, thanked him and gave him a great big bear hug.  Every bullet point represented little lessons taught over the years.  Most came from those lectures where I thought I was talking too much and wondered whether his eyes were glazing over, whether he was thinking about football rather than listening to what I was telling him.  Others came from experiences and morals gleaned from stories about my family members. I recognized all of them.  Remembered every conversation, every moment we talked about these ideas.

Hooray.  Simply, hooray.

There it was — years of talking, teaching, leading, discussing, and guiding summed up by a page of bullet points.  He told me that he could have written more, but had to keep it to a page.

“That’s fine,” I thought. “More than good enough.”

Parenting provides no feedback or bonuses, no accolades or pay raises, so how do we know whether we’re doing a good job? We hope for moments like these and when we get them, we cherish them.

At the end of the day, it’s not about us.  The measure of our parenting, if it even exists, will be shown by our children’s character as they become young adults.  We really don’t know for certain whether they will be responsible citizens, contribute to society, or make a difference in the world.  But at least we can breath a little sigh of relief knowing that they hear our words and emulate our actions.

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Check out this uplifting video by the Black Eyed Peas as they kicked off Oprah’s 24th season:

Makes me want to learn the dance…

oh, wait…

I can! And you can, too!

Here’s how:

A good friend of mine recently confided that her middle school daughter wants to start wearing eyeliner. I’m happy for her that her daughter asked her permission (rather than sneaking it behind her back and secretly applying it on the bus ride to school). Shortly after our conversation, several other parents told me similar stories. Middle school girls want to wear eyeliner.  Just eyeliner.

Do you have a girl in middle school? Chances are good that she (or her friends) has considered wearing eyeliner.

My bottom line advice? Don’t let her wear eyeliner.

Many years ago, I spent some time in the world of fashion and beauty where we learned voice and diction as well as make up application.  We were never taught to only wear eyeliner.  I have never only worn eyeliner.  I would never wear only eyeliner on a bare face.

Here’s my advice:

Makeup is about enhancing features.  For everyday looks, it’s intended to make someone more beautiful without attempting to create a mask or simply color the face.  Drawing lines around the eyes doesn’t enhance them.  It brings attention to them, sure, but that’s about it.  And I mean it brings attention to the lines, not the eyes.  Imagine a large canvas with a black frame.  Would your eyes be drawn to the canvas or the frame?

But don’t try to explain that to your daughter.

Instead,

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