Mini-Reviews: Edition, the First

Crazy Heart:  Highly acclaimed and brilliantly cast, the story of an old and nigh-forgotten country music star.  Bad Blake once spent his days performing for thousands, and now he's lucky to get fifty at a bowling alley show.  Jeff Bridges does amazing work in this film, singing many of the songs himself (and I suspect playing the guitar, too, though this is unverified).  Bad is an alcoholic, and much of Crazy Heart deals with his problem.  This was a stirring movie that I rather enjoyed.

Lord of the Rings Extended Trilogy Blu-Ray:  With only a few extra features compared to the DVD trilogy, the blu-rays nevertheless look stunning in their high definition.  Probably not worth it to the casual viewer, but definitely for the fans.  Oh, and the box is shiny...

Alpocalypse:  I've been a Weird Al fan since I was a wee lad.  His were the first albums I e'er bought, if I remember correctly.  His creativity always is great, and the fun, crisp music he produces is more often a hit than a miss.  He's got some flops, but he's also got some gems, too, in his latest record.  His take on Gaga is funny.  His tribute to Charles Nelson Riley is sheer genius.  And his soulful "Stop Forwarding that Crap to Me" had me giggling.  So yeah, if you like Weird Al, you'll enjoy this, provided you can tolerate contemporary pop music.

Wise Man's Fear (Spoiler Free):  I've been reading this aloud to Keisha for a while now, but I recently picked up the audio at the library and have been listening to it at work, too.  I've been following along Jo Watson's Rothfuss Re-Read on Tor.com and I admit, I missed a lot the first time through.  I've read NOTW twice, and keeping that in mind with things from WMF, it's like, wowzers.  How did I miss this?  It's so... obvious.  I suppose I missed it cause Pat's just too darned clever. 

Harry Potter:  With the much anticipated conclusion to the epic HP film franchise on the outside edge of a span away, I've decided to re-watch the films.  Keisha and I spent much of the long weekend nestled together on the couch watching the first six films (okay, we skipped PoA and GoF, but it's only cause we've seen them a bajillion times) and gearing up for TDH:Pt2.  I confess, I cannot fathom why or how there are people that dislike the Boy Who Lived.  These books have done so much for the reading world.  So many people have been turned on to reading because of the books, and in my opinion, the films are beautiful to behold and fun to experience.  Aye, they have their faults, but overall, each movie is wonderful.

ESV Study Bible:  I got this bible when I thought I was going to become a deacon.  I'd been putting it off until something else happened, cause frankly, I've got plenty of bibles.  Even so, the ESV Study Bible is an excellent reference bible that has easily become my daily reading bible.  It's thick and teeming with so much stuff that I don't often know where to look.  In addition to the holy Word of God, there's a ton of footnotes, helpful maps, charts, and many other tools for deeper learning.  There's also a couple hundred pages of essays and reference text spread throughout the bible and after Revelation.  I'm really liking it.

Avonlea Brynn:  My babe is growing growing growing quite well.  She spends most of her days eating and pooping and sleeping and, lately, crying.  I'm still amazed at her, honestly, and I'm sure I always will be.

Google+:  Hmmm.  Can't decide, really.  It seems quite cool, actually.  It's nowhere near as cluttered as Facebook, plus it's Google.  It's basically like Facebook, but has no ads (yet) and only people that I care about (so far).  Only thing I dislike is that I can't use "logankstewart" as my name, but I must use "Logan Stewart."  Perchance that'll change.  I can't make up my mind about this type of social media anyway.

Lunch:  Ah yes, what a delicious meal.  I had leftover bbq hamburgers and hotdogs and corn-on-the-cob from last night's 3rd Annual Stewartland Extravaganza.  Oh, and sour cream & onion chips, too, with a mug o' Mello Yello to quench my thirst.  Good stuff.