All these new, glossy horror remakes got you down? Looking for something with more of a brutal, retro vibe? Ever wanted to see Danielle Harris in a plaid skirt, carrying a large pick ax? Look no further than Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet.
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Watch Hank on ABC Wednesdays at 8/7c
I’ve often lamented the lame dads on TV these days. Finding an awesome dad in a popular show is the equivelant of Indiana Jones treasure hunt. For awhile it seemed like good father figures were hard to find outside of the occasional diamond in the rough like Keith Mars (Veronica Mars). I’m not saying they have to be “Father Knows Best” style, but real characters who genuinely love their kids and aren’t complete idiots, abusive, or absentee. This is probably because my own dad is so awesome, that it’s hard to see bad fathers on TV.
So when the WB Word of Mouth team asked us to blog about Hank and what the best fatherly advice we’ve received, it got me thinking about fathers on TV. Hank has one of those redemptive father stories that makes him unique (and awesome). Previously wrapped up in his work Hank finds reality set in when he was laid off and moved back to his wife’s home town. Hank realizes that he doesn’t know his kids, or how to relate to them. Yet, Hank tries. And, in the end, that’s what makes great father advice. The genuine desire Hank has to connect and help his kids shows in every scene. Like the scene below:
In this scene Hank has started working at the same place as his daughter, Maddie. In an attempt to teach her the value of hard work and employment after Maddie wants her own computer. While Hank spends most of the epsiode touting the plattitudes of hard work, but it’s not until he’s really honest about his own feelings that he really gets through to her.
My parents have given me a lot of advice over the years, directly or indirectly. It seems like many of the phrases are echoy in my head (just ask my friends how many times I’ve said ‘my dad says..’). The best advice though it all has been the quiet moments where my dad just shares his life. Something about that just makes all of the verbal lessons mean something more.
So, here’s to great dads on TV, characters like Hank, Keith Mars, Richard Castle and Tim Taylor. The world needs more of them, making mistakes, giving great advice and being loved. Especially for all of us who have the world’s greatest dad at home.
Disclosure: I have been hired by Warner Bros to help raise awareness for Hank.
Watch Supernatural Thursday nights (9/8c) on the CW.
Not caught up? Buy Supernatural: The Complete Fourth Season
So far in the Supernatural season we’ve had so much about the overall arch that it was nice to take a break and do a “case of the week” type story. While the episode isn’t the highlight of the season it still cleaned up some important emotional points. Sadly it was one of the most poorly constructed (story-wise) episodes I’ve seen from Supernatural in a long time.
Rating: [rating:2.5]
Dean: And you beat me here.
Bobby: Brains trumps legs, apparently.
Sam: Have you seen … you?
Dean: The old chick in Titanic, I know.
Doctor: You expect me to believe you’re CDC?
Sam: Excuse me?
Doctor: It’s just that you’re a day early. First time in history I haven’t sat on my ass waiting for you people.
Dean: New administration. Change you can believe in.
Spoilers after the cut.
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Looking for some funk in your life? Tired of the only options to keep your groove being pop-rock choices (like the Black Eyed Peas)? Then you need to do yourself a favor and check out this group – Fort Knox Five or pick up The New Gold Standard 2
FORT KNOX FIVE is a DC based funk and global recording four-part group and they’ve had a huge impact on the international funk and breaks scene over the past couple of years. With the release of five critically acclaimed singles on their own independent label, Fort Knox Recordings, the FK5 have been thrust into the spotlight and caught the attention of music lovers around the world.
I received an advanced copy of the album for review and knew nothing of Fort Knox Five before listening. What impresses me the most about the Fort Knox Five songs on this album is the complex layering of sounds, instruments and vocals. This truly is modern funk at it’s best. With some of the songs feeling extremely old school (like the Jazz-funk track “The Sax Pusher”) to the modern, Eastern-influenced single “Shift”. All of these songs are great for a club or to get you moving at home.
“The New Gold Standard 2” is a compilation and a follow up to 2006’s “The New Gold Standard” and contains 15 new tracks including “Shift” featuring hip hop and international masterminds Afrika Bambaataa and Mustafa Akbar. It’s great to have a compilation album that isn’t just the same 14 songs you already have on your iPod and one new song, so if you’re looking for some new music, this is a great purchase.
If you’re interested in learning more about Fort Knox Five check them out on Twitter, Fort Knox Five, or Myspace. Also check out their upcoming shows in November in Hawaii, Hong Kong and Singapore.
In order to participate in this giveaway please read all of the rules at the end of this post.
Being on the go a lot, I love snacks that travel well. From walking around Disneyland to a trip to the beach, I need munchies that can stand up to heat, being shoved in a bag and taste great with anything. So when I received four bags of Nature Valley’s new Granola Nut Clusters, I was more than happy to review them.
About Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters:
Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are a bite size blend of 100% natural ingredients that include select roasted nuts, whole grain oats and a touch of honey – a wholesome and delicious pick-me-up any time of the day. If you love nuts, you´ll enjoy this flavorful little snack featuring the perfect combination of sweet & salty flavors paired with a crunchy texture that you can see and taste. And with the first unique cluster-shaped granola packaged in a handy re-sealable pouch, it´s perfect for sharing on the trails or in your living room!
Since I already was a huge fan of Nature Valley’s bars, I was interested to know if the same quality would be put into their nut clusters. I tried all four of the current flavors and am happy to report that the same delicious ingredients and combinations of ingredients were present. With many packaged foods with nuts it’s hard to get nuts that don’t taste, to some degree, stale or the flavor of a wood chip. But the nuts in these granola nut clusters are absolutely delicious. My favorites were the almonds and cashews.
The nice thing about the clusters is they’re easy to eat without a lot of mess, so they’re perfect for a trip or eating around the home. And the protein and slightly sweet/salty combo made them a perfect mid-day pick me up at work when my energy was flagging. I also loved the packaging, the resealable bag actually sits up nicely, so the clusters are easy to get to and easy to store.
Warning though, these were so good it was hard to stop at just eating one or two!
Contest!
The good folks at MyBlogSpark and Nature Valley want you to win the same product pack they sent me (see pictured above)! In addition to the 4 varieties of Granola Nut Clusters, you’ll receive an eco-friendly sling backpack, binoculars, stainless steel water bottle, and a flashlight.
Main Entry: (you must complete this entry in order to participate, otherwise all other entries will be disqualified)
Visit Nature Valley’s page for Granola Nut Clusters and come back and leave a comment with which flavor you’re looking forward to trying!
Extra Entries:
1. Tweet this review using the text below and leave a comment with your Twitter handle:
Win a Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters Prize Pack at the QuadrupleZ blog: http://bit.ly/1MKPNr #giveaway
2. Leave a comment on another QuadZ post (come back here and leave a comment to say you did so)
3. Subscribe to us via email: Subscribe to Quadruple Z by Email (leave a comment to say you did so)
4. Blog about this giveaway and leave us the link in the comments.
Winner will be chosen on November 12th, 2009 at 9AM Pacific. US entries only. Leave a separate comment for each entry & a valid email address/blog URL. Winner, chosen at random, has 3 days to claim their prize, if there is no response a different winner will be chosen.
Written for MyBlogSpark as part of a campaign for General Mills, who supplied the product for review & giveaway. Other than a product sample, no compensation was received for this post.
Take one writer from X2 and mix well with producer Bryan Singer. Sprinkle with impressive cast from the likes of True Blood, Battlestar Galactica and Manhunter. Inject a wicked sense of humor and classic horror. Bake for 2 years. Result: Trick ‘r Treat.
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Buy Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
I stumbled on a couple of reminders that the Battlestar Galactica movie, “The Plan” is out now. The first was the big ol’ email that I got from Universal Studios Home Entertainment that said “Hey, The Plan’s out. Buy it.” and the other was this month’s Maxim magazine. It features a photoshoot with Tricia Helfer and Grace Park and being Maxim, it’s looong on cheesecake (and tongue in cheek humor) and short on interview, but if you must have everything BSG – then… I’m sure you’ll have fun getting it signed at the next con. The 10-second article does have Park hinting about just how Released-to-DVD differs from basic cable (she uses the term “T, C, & A”, if that tells you anything) and Helfer mentioning hosting a kitten adoption (awww… no really, kittens are cute).
To read Tabz’s review of “The Plan” click here.
And – if you’ve never heard of the magazine, there is (of course) a Wikipedia article (hint: they’re the ones that printed a review of a Black Crowes album without actually listening to it. Some people were amazed at their accuracy. They’ve also had Eliza Dushku on the cover twice.)
(Photo: SyFy)
Legend of the Seeker on the outside might look like just another Xenia or Hercules-style show (which isn’t entirely a bad thing in my opinion) that’s way too campy to be taken seriously (point in fact all three shows are produced by Sam Raimi). Yet the show has a surprisingly awesome cast, beautiful shooting locations and a story line that is compelling and, at times, complex. If you enjoy fantasy odds are that you’ll really enjoy Legend of the Seeker, which is based very loosely on The Sword of Truth novels by Terry Goodkind. Since I watched both episodes together we’ll review the first two episodes together. More spoilery review about the pilot episodes “Prophecy” and “Destiny” after the cut.
Buy Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (Two-Disc Special Edition)
or Superman/Batman: Public Enemies [Blu-ray]
*contains very light spoilers*
I start this review by saying I have not read the comics this movie is based on. I have heard from other, however, that it’s done very well in relation to the story in the comics. This review will be based on my opinions coming solely from viewing the DVD. There will be light spoilers, but I won’t reveal large plot points.
To begin, Lex Luthor is elected President of the United States. President Luthor wants all superheroes in service of the government. Those who don’t agree to work for him will find out they are not above the law. Superman, of course, refuses to work for Luthor. He knows he’s up to something.
There is a massive meteor made of Kryptonite heading towards earth. Luthor wants to be the one to destroy it, so he can get the credit. That is behind closed doors though. He publicly announced that he wants to work with Superman to destroy the meteor.
Superman meets with Luthor, but Luthor brought Metallo with him. This weakens Superman and he pushes Luthor down. Luthor flees, while Superman is left to have an all out brawl with Metallo. This fight is awesome! Batman steps in, but he and Superman are no match for the machine that just keeps coming. They escape to Batman’s cave.
They find out, however, that Metallo is dead. Luthor is saying that Superman killed the innocent John Corbin and must be stopped. He has a video of Superman pushing him down and part of the fight with Metallo. Luthor claims the Kryptonite in the meteor is affecting Superman’s mind and offers a 1 billion dollar reward for his defeat.
This causes Superman and Batman to be confronted by a hoard of super villains, plus the super heroes working for Luthor. There are some great fights here as well. They must try to convince the other super heroes that they are on the wrong side. That’s all I’ll say about the plot, except four words: Lex Luthor Kryptonite Suit.
The story is really entertaining, with plenty of twists to keep your attention. There are loads of names you’ll recognize if you’re a DC comics fan. I didn’t know all of them, but that gives me the excuse to pull out my DC Encyclopedia. Powergirl, Hawkman, and Toy Man are just a few of the names of appear. I also really enjoyed the relationship between Superman and Batman. They had a lot of great jokes between the two. I’d highly recommend this movie. It’s one of my favorites among the DC animated features.
(Photo: Warner Home Video)
The non-profit organization Caps for Kids, along with national sponsors New Era Cap Co. and Hatworld/Lids, are proud to announce that the 6th Annual “Wear Your Cap to School Day” event will take place on October 23rd in schools across the United States. This fundraising initiative encourages students to donate $1.00 for the chance to wear their favorite cap in the classroom. All monies raised support Caps for Kids’ mission of providing celebrity signed headwear and scarves to children being treated for cancer.
“Having cancer at any age is a traumatic experience but having it as a child is even more anguishing,” says John DeWaal, Caps for Kids President. “Wear Your Cap To School Day is a great opportunity to illustrate to students that their small donation can have a big impact to kids in their community.”
Interest in the program continues to spread across the US with schools in more than 38 states participating and over $340,000 raised to date to benefit Caps for Kids. In 2008 alone, more than $90,000 was generated, marking a record of growth for the organization.
For more information on Wear Your Cap to School Day visit www.wearyourcaptoschoolday.com and Caps for Kids visitwww.capsforkids.org.