Tag Archives: book-review

Gone Before the Game

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Gone Before The Game 

                                               By: DingleHopper The OpperBopper

“Cleo, are you excited for my birthday party?” Violet asked. 

“Yea I am, but who all is going to the party?”  I said.

“Sarah, Keara, Tova, you, and I. But my twin brother Asaiah is also having a sleepover with his friends. I’ll make him and his friends leave us alone.”                           

Ding ding ding

 “Well I have to go to class but have a good day.”

“Ya you too.” said Violet.

I went to my 7th period class of the day, it was different because I got my schedule changed. I just hope my class is not with Anna. Anna and I were friends in third grade but after sixth grade my and she started getting farther apart and stopped talking to each other after she made rumors about me. She made a rumor about me saying I had a crush on a kid Kyle. Because we were really good friends at the time and our parents were friends, we had a lot of classes together. We had a lot of classes together because we were able to choose our classes and me and her chose the same classes. 

I got to my class and it was a study period and I was happy about that, and I saw my friend Keara there. 

“Hi Keara.” I said. 

“Heyyy Cleo. I thought you had literacy in the first period? “said Keara.”

“ I got my classes switched.” 

“Oh ok”

Ring ring ring 

“That’s the announcement guys be quiet so we can hear it.” Mrs. Smith said 

“Whoever wants to go out for basketball please go to the gym” the voice over the intercom said.

“Cleo, are you going out for basketball?” said Keara

“Ya you?” I asked.

“Ya I am. Wanna walk together?” 

“Sure, I just hope Asaiah, Sarah, Keara, Tova, you, and I All get on the same team.”

“Ya me too.”

I got down to the gym with my friend Keara. When I went inside the gym I saw Anna was talking to my crush Asaiah. Maybe they’re just friends? Oh no Anna is walking over here.

“Yo Cleo, did you hear?” asked Anna

          “Here what?” I asked 

  “Asaiah and I are dating.”  Anna smirks.

“Ok????” 

“Why so defensive? Do you like him or something?”

“Noo that’s Violet’s twin brother!”  Omg I can’t stand her, why won’t she leave me alone.. You may be wondering why Anna and I split ways. In 6th grade I had a best friend, her name was Bridget. She moved in 5th to my school, I got called down to the office to help her and show her to her classes. After that we started to hang out and we became best friends. Then one day I introduced her to Anna. Then they became best friends and stopped including me in things. Eventually they stopped including me in everything. So in classes I ignored them. Eventually Bridget moved away to her old school. Anna came and tried to talk to me and ask to go to my house. But I ended up just ignoring her because I knew that she would ditch me again for someone different. Then she told me that she doesn’t want to be friends anymore, I knew that it was going to end up happening in the end. And that’s why we are not friends anymore. 

“Hey Cleo, what time are you coming to my party?” Violet asked.

“Probably around 5pm because I have travel ball and I have to ride the bus home today.” I said

“Ok sounds good.”

Ding ding ding

“Ok you guys can head to your 8th period now. If you have travel basketball, head to the girls locker room and get ready for the game. ” Coach said.
“Are you in travel basketball Violet?” I asked.

“Ya I am. I hope we’re on the same team.” Violet said. 

“Ya me too. Let’s gooo.” While we were on the way to the locker room I got tripped by Anna. I couldn’t move my leg! “VIOLET I CAN’T FEEL MY LEG!”

“Ok just uh um stay right there i’ll get the nurse.”“Is the nurse here?!” Violet asked.

“No, she’s not here at the moment. Is there anything I could do for you?” Mrs. Collins, one of the secretaries asked.

“Yes, call an ambulance please!”

“First I need to know what happened.”

“CLE -CLE -CLEO GOT TRIPPED BY ANNA AND SHE CAN’T FEEL HER LEG!” Violet stuttered.

“Ok Mrs. Williams will call an ambulance. Where is Cleo at?”  Mrs. Collins asked.

“She is by the girls locker room.” Violet said. 

“Ok why don’t you stay here and Mrs. Williams will give you her locker number and code. Once you get into her locker get her stuff and bring it down here ok.” 

“Ok” 

“Violet’s  locker number  is 412 and her combo is 13-30-08” Mrs. Williams said.

“Ok, got it.” Violet said. 13 30 08, 13 30 08, 13 30 08. Come on open COME ON OPEN ALREADY. 

“Violet, why are you running?” Mr. Smith asked

 “Can’t talk right now. Ok I got her stuff.” Violet said. 

“Ok thank you Violet, Why don’t you sit down for now. Mrs.Williams said. 

“Ok” 

Ring ring ring

“Hello this is 911. What’s your emergency?” the 911 operator said.

“A kid tripped and can’t feel her leg.” Mrs. Williams said. 

“Ok where are you located? 

“Brookside Middle School.”

“Ok we have an ambulance on the way.” 

“I have to tell the mom so I was wondering if I could let you go because she is stable and an ambulance is on the way?”

“Yes, that’s ok as long as she is stable.”

“Ok.”

Ring ring ring

“Hello this is Mrs. Williams, am I speaking to Cleo Smith’s mom?” Mrs. Williams asked.

Yes this is she. How can I help you?” Cleo’s mom asked. 

“Your daughter fell down and she can’t feel her leg.” 

“Well is she okay?” 

We don’t know but there is an ambulance rushing her to the hospital.” 

“Ok I’m on my way.” Cleo’s mom said.

1 hour later…

“Hello, are you Cleo Smith’s mom?” one of the doctor’s asked. 

“Yes I am.” Cleo’s mom said

“Why don’t you sit down.”

“Ok what happened ?”

“Cleo went into cardiac arrest. And she did not make it.” 

“What no,  she was fine this morning.”

Five Olympic Rings: One Cross Country Team

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Five Olympic Rings One Cross Country Team     

By: Tater Tot The Smart Goober

Sarah Konalie was a 5 ‘8 , sixteen year old girl who had deep blue eyes, curly brown hair and skin that stayed tan all year around. Sarah was a very talented cross country runner who was ranked number one in  her conference. Sarah Konalia was born in Boston Massachusetts, but at the age of four, she moved to a small town in Iowa. The same year Sarah moved she started running to help take off some of the stress of joining a new school and having to make new friends. Sarah went undefeated last cross country season even going on to win state.

 Just when Sarah thought her season was over she got a call from the Olympic Cross Country team head coach Bertha Johanson. 

“Sarah I am so glad I was able to get a hold of you, you accomplished great last season, and I am excited to inform you that a spot on our Olympic team has opened up, and I would like to personally invite you to come to the meet where we will choose who our next member will be,” said Bertha

 Sarah said, “Thank you so much for this opportunity! This is a dream come true, I can’t wait!”

Bertha Johanson sighed over the phone and then said, “Sarah, I am happy to know you are excited, but you will be going against people that are almost double your age, and have been training for this their whole life. Now that being said, you do have the best time out of all of these people, but you still need to train hard and keep improving.”

“I completely understand, and, if you don’t mind me asking, who has the next best time behind me?” Sarah said.

“That is a great question and it is actually someone that is your age, and you have gone against often this past season,” Bertha said. 

“Oh, do I know them personally?” Sarah asked.

“Umm yeah you actually know them very well. It is your teammate Karen Shoop.” Bertha said.

“Oh, Karen, as in the one that in our last meet I only beat by a couple seconds?” Sarah said in a worried tone.

Betha Johanson then said, “Yes, I thought it would be a great competition, and motivation to challenge the both of you. I was talking to your coach and she said the two of you really pushed each other during the season.”

Sarah was too stunned to speak but then got the words out, “Uhh yeah something like that.”

Coach Bertha then said, “This isn’t a problem for you is it?”

“No, not at all!” Sarah quickly said.

“All right, good, I look forward to seeing you two weeks from now on Saturday.” Bertha Johanson said.

“See you in two weeks,” said sarah. “Oh and thank you so much for this opportunity!”

After the phone call ended Sarah couldn’t help but worry about Karen being at the race. Although Sarah had always beaten Karen, recently Karen had been getting closer and closer to beating Sarah. Even to the point of Sarah only winning by two seconds at their last meet.

That was not the only problem Sarah had with Karen. Although they would always treat each other with respect, in the second grade, Sarah’s boyfriend at the time, Mike who she had been dating since kindergarten, was playing at recess with Karen, and did not come over by Sarah when she walked outside. This was something he did everyday, so when he did not it really hurt Sarah’s feelings. After that day Sarah and Mike broke up and shortly after he started dating Karen. 

Sarah knew she needed to start training immediately to improve her time, as well as give her body some time to heal. The race was only two weeks away which is not a lot of time for her to improve her time as well as give her body the amount of rest it will need to perform at it’s best of abilities. There was no way Sarah was going to let that boyfriend stealing witch get in the way of her making the Olympic team. 

Sarah decided to make a schedule for her training. On Mondays she would run four miles at her race pace, eat a good meal, and then do arms at the gym. On Tuesdays she would do five easy miles, and then go straight to the gym where she will do legs. On Wednesday Sarah would go for a walk, and then go to a yoga class. On Thursday Sarah was going to do integrals, sprint half a mile, walk a fourth a mile, sprint a mile, walk a half mile. Sarah would do that a total of three times. On Friday Sarah is going to go on a seven mile long run, then go to the pool to relax. On Saturday Sarah will go to the gym and do a full body workout followed by yoga afterwards. On Sunday Sarah will clean, and do stuff around the house, but no workout.

Now that Sarah had already created her schedule for training, she started right away wasting no time at all. It was Saturday so that meant Sarah needed to go to the gym and do a full body workout accompanied by some yoga after words.

Sarah got dressed in her workout clothes and headed out the door to the gym. When Sarah arrived she stretched, and proceeded to grab the 20 pound weights to start with arms. Sarah did 10 shoulder presses, rest, 10 bicep curls, rest, for a total of three rounds.  

After arms, Sarah did abs because as a runner it was super important for Sarah to have a strong core. Sarah did 10 crunches, 10 sit ups, rest for 30 seconds, one minute plank, rest for 30 seconds, 15 leg raises, and repeated three times.

All that was left for Sarah to do at the gym was legs. Sarah did 10 squats, 10 left leg split squats, 10 right leg split squats, and repeated it for three rounds.

After the gym Sarah was a little sore so she was excited to go to yoga and stretch. 

When Sarah arrived at yoga she grabbed one of the mats and started stretching before the teacher arrived. When the teacher walked into the dimly lit, lavender-scented yoga room they all started to stretch together. Throughout the yoga class they proceeded to stretch, and hold poses that helped work on flexibility. Sarah loved yoga because it helped her get longer strides, and made her body feel refreshed.

After yoga, Sarah went home and prepared a steak, with potatoes, and five cut up strawberries. While Sarah was going to sit down to eat, she got a call, a very unexpected call, from Karen. Sarah answered the phone with a sweet, welcoming tone, “Hi Karen it has been so long since I have talked to you! How have you been?”

“I am doing great, I actually wanted to call and tell you that I got a call from the Olympic head coach, Bertha Johanson saying that she wants me to go to the Olympic Cross Country team tryouts, and that I have a really good chance of making the team. There is only one person with better times than me. Can you believe it? This is a dream come true!” Karen said with an excited but also arrogant tone.

“Oh, that’s great Karen, I am so happy for you!” Sarah said with excitement, even though in her head she was annoyed with the fact that Karen had called her to brag about her accomplishment.

“Oh I am glad you feel that way because I was actually calling you to ask for your help. I was wondering if you know who the person that has a better time than me could be? Coach Bertha told me that they were my age but I was too scared to ask her who,” Karen said.

Sarah smiled over the phone, barely able to keep in her excitement about how Karen was going to react when Sarah told her that the person with better times is actually her. Sarah took a deep breath and then said, “I actually do know who you are talking about, and I know them very well.”

“Oh really, that’s great Sarah! I am so happy we are able to put our past behind us, and you are willing to help me out.” Karen said excitedly. 

“Yeah no problem at all, and you actually know them too. In fact you are speaking to them over the phone right now.” Sarah said smugly. 

Karen, after being too stunned to speak, finally managed to say, “Oh that is great, I am so happy for you.”

“Yeah I am happy for you too, well I have to let you go and get back to training, and I am sure you have to do the same. So see you in two weeks!” Sarah said

“See you in two weeks.” Karen said still in shock from finding out that Sarah was going to be at the Olympic tryouts too.

After the phone call with Karen, Sarah worked hard for the next two weeks of training. During the two weeks of training there was only one problem Sarah encountered. She kept replaying the race that Karen was so close to beating her over and over in her head. Sarah would replay this moment and then get in her head and not focus on her breathing and strides. 

This problem caused Sarah to only improve her time by five seconds, opposed to the ten seconds she was planning. Although five seconds is a really good improvement in cross country, the ten seconds would have given Sarah more reassurance to be able to beat Karen.

The day of the race quickly occurred. and it was time to see if all of Sarah’s hard work was going to pay off. Before the race started Sarah stretched and then went on a slow one mile run to get her body moving. After the run Sarah stretched again and took her box at the starting line where she did stride outs.

With only one minute till the race would start. Sarah walked to her box and got ready to start. Just as the starting guy was walking to the stand, he shot his fake pistol from to signal the take off of the runners, Sarah looked to her far right and saw Karen Shoop. 

This was not good. Sarah started thinking about the race that they were neck and neck, and could not help feeling that this time it was going to be different. Before Sarah could replay that moment in her head for a second time she got interrupted by the starting guy counting down. 

“On your marks! Get set Go!” The pistol went off and so did the runners. 

Sarah was off to a great start. She was feeling the wind in her face, and she had a great adrenaline rush. Sarah had a pretty decent gap in between her and the group of people behind her, but when she looked back to double check she noticed that there was a person getting closer to her. That person was Karen. 

This time instead of letting Karen get in her head Sarah embraced the freeing feeling she got when she ran and ignored Karen behind her.

Sarah had just finished mile one of the race and her time clocked in at five minutes to be exact. This was good, but for mile two Sarah has to pick up the pace a little and try for a four minutes and fifty five seconds mile.

Sarah focussed on her breathing and strides for mile two. When Sarah finished mile two she was still feeling good and was able to run that mile at a four minute and forty five second mile pace. At the two mile marker Sarah looked behind her to see Karen holding her pace and only a few feet behind.

Sarah knew that for mile three she would have to give it all that she had left. Sarah slowly started picking her pace up and widened the gap between her and Karen. Sarah was feeling good about herself and started to focus on the trail ahead. 

After a minute Sarah looked behind her to see that Karen had gotten really close, maybe five feet behind her. Sarah knew that with only three quarters of a mile to go she would have to widen the gap before the final stretch. Karen was a great sprinter so when it came down to the final stretch between the two, Karen would have been able to sprint right past Sarah to win. 

Sarah picked up her pace even more, and with only a half mile left Karen was still behind her so close that Sarah could hear her breathing.

That’s when Sarah decided to pick up the pace. Sarah started to practically sprint; she was bound and determined to beat Karen. Sarah practically sprinted for a fourth of a mile and that gave a huge gap between her and Karen, there was at least fifteen feet between the two of them. Since Sarah was practically sprinting, she used a lot of her energy, and now she had to hold a good steady fast pace while also leaving energy for when she sprinted at the end.

Sarah was able to see the finish line now. There was still a good ten feet gap between Sarah and Karen, but Sarah knew she had to pick up the pace because when Karen started sprinting that gap would shorten drastically. Sarah took off and now there was only fifteen feet between her and the finish line, but there was also only ten feet between Sarah and Karen.

Even though Sarah was in pain she sprinted as fast as she could and that’s when she heard people cheering. They were cheering for her. Sarah had done it! She had made the Olympic Cross Country team! A dream she had since she was just a little girl. Sarah had run the best race of her life. Her old personal record was 15:55, and she ran a 15:30! 

Sarah was happy she made the Olympic team and not only that, she was happy to have learned a new lesson that she has never forgotten, and used it for the rest of her running career and everyday in her life since. Sarah learned that no one can stop you from reaching your goals except for you, and your own mindset. Not even a boyfriend-snatching, evil, backstabbing, witch!

Have You Seen Andy? (2007)

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January 14

Today’s documentary in the 2025 Genre-ary was a tough one to watch.

According to IMDB, “”Have You Seen Andy?” is the personal story of a childhood friendship abruptly ended by the tragic abduction of a young boy. On a hot summer day in August 1976, ten year-old Andy Puglisi was playing along with dozens of other children at the Higgins Memorial Pool in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Then suddenly, he disappeared. Twenty-two years later, filmmaker Melanie Perkins, Andy’s childhood friend, begins her search for answers in this feature-length documentary.”

For someone who has spent most of his adult life working with kids, this doc about the missing 10-year old boy dealt with the possibility that he was taken by and killed by a pedophile who had been stalking kids for some time. Using a story of needing help finding his missing dog, Wayne Chapman would be the predator that the doc’s filmmaker, Melanie Perkins believed was at fault.

Shocking events that seemed to occur all helped prevent this case to be solved. The story of a bloody sock that was found in Chapman’s car that matched the sock that Andy had been wearing were taken for evidence and lost. There is no knowledge of where the sock went. There are unbelievable moments such as this that are littered through the doc.

There were also leads that turned into disappointments that piled up with this case. All the while being made all the worse with some of the beautiful pictures and home movies of Andy and his happy life.

Honestly, this doc was a labor of love from a friend looking for closure. Sadly, it has never come. Chapman died in 2021, after being released from prison.

I have a pit in my gut after watching this film. It was a painful story that is just too common in our world.

Dexter: Original Sin S1 E6

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Spoilers

“The Joy of Killing”

I have been disappointed with the new Dexter show since the first couple episodes. This new one, episode six, was the best one since the first two.

The show limited the amount of silly Dexter action, though there was some of that as he was getting his first blow job. Still, it was kept to a minimum and the cases were compelling.

The captain’s son was snatched much like the judge’s son earlier in the season. We met the captain’s son recently as he spoke with Dexter. That made this more powerful than just a kid who we had never met. The tension of the cop shop during this episode was at an all-time high.

I am not in love with the flashbacks, but these were fairly significant. We see the birth of Debra and Harry’s wife told him no more affair. Another awkward moment.

Dexter set himself up as a serial killer (officially killing his third victim). The alligator dumping was not going to work any longer as the police have discovered the arm floating in the swamp that we saw a few episodes ago. I figured that was coming back, and I am glad it made it.

Of course, Dexter is not going to be caught or even implicated because we know he does not get caught or implicated for years. The dangers of a prequel.

I hope the remainder of this season is able to match this quality more than it has been lately.

Battlestar Galactica S3 E19, E20, S4 E1, E2

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Spoilers

“Crossover Part 1”

“Crossover Part 2”

“He That Believeth in Me”

“Six of One”

The finale two episodes of Battlestar Galactica season three and the first two episodes of season four were wild.

They revealed four of the Final Five Cylons and I found it difficult to believe. Sam, Chief Tyrol, Tory Foster and, of all people, Colonel Tigh were revealed to be Cylons in disguise. They were understandably confused, but seemed to have more free will than I thought they would.

Of course, that leaves one more Cylon of the five and the show is trying to make us think that it is Kara. Kara, who showed back up, not dead, came back with a story of finding earth. I do not think she turns out to be the Cylon. I think she is a red herring. I think there are some other possible suspects at this time:

Baltar: Another one what feels too obvious. With all of the interaction with Cylons, Baltar feels wrong. Plus, he is really buying into the one person/one god thing and the worshiping that the One-God crew was giving him.

Laura Roslin: With the cancer returning, I think this would be the shock that the show may be going for. She also has a connection to Number six through these visions. She shot at Starbuck at close range and missed. Maybe she can’t harm one of her own (or at least in his mind).

Admiral Adama: I think he has been really inconsistent as a character recently. He is up and down all over the place and this could explain that. It could also be that shock moment.

I am not sure what Lee Adama’s exit from Galactica meant this episode. Did he just leave the series or is he on a new arc into the political world?

Entering into the final season of the show, I expect things to be on a high level as the season progresses. I have questioned how uncertain I am of any of these characters, yet it feels very compelling.

Bates Motel S5 E7, E8

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Spoilers

“Inseparable”

“The Body”

So much for Chick being the author of the novel Psycho was based on. One bullet to the head from Alex Romero took care of that.

I really do not remember how this is resolved, so I cannot begin to know where this is heading. I just have two more episodes left for the season and it is thrilling. I’m sure I watched this when it was released on A & E, but I legit do not remember much of this.

These two episodes had so many massive moments that it took my breath away.

The whole scene where Norman, as Norma, attacked Dylan and Norman prevented his other side from stabbing him was insane. I was telling Dylan to get out of there, I was so worried about him. Dylan is the conscience of the story, the heart of this family. His loyalty to his brother, despite all, is amazing. I do not remember Dylan’s fate, but I really do not want him to die. I want him to go back to Seattle with Emma and raise their baby girl, Katie. I feel a foreboding that those thoughts are pipe dreams.

Alex Romero is another character that I do not want to see come to an end. I think he is going to end up dying, but his will to come back for vengeance against Norman is downright Shakespearian. Alex is so damaged that you could see the pain constantly. The look on his face as Chick was telling him about what Norman had done (digging up Norma’s body and building a ‘mausoleum’ for her int he basement freezer) was very telling. There was one shot where his face looked to be like death itself, pale and conflicted.

I kind of loved watching Norma take over control of the body of Norman only to be thwarted by the new sheriff. ‘Norma’ thought she had everything handled, but surprises kept coming.

The police discovered the body of Emma’s mother in the lake alongside the guy Romero sent to try and kill Norman.

Just two more to go…

Yellowjackets S2 E1

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Spoilers

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen”

The second season of Yellowjackets is underway and the winter has started to take its toll. There also appears to be some mental breakdowns starting to creep into the survivors (I say ‘starting’ although this is probably a mad rush). Shauna eating the ear of Jackie, who had died two months earlier, but not buried (I assume because the ground is too frozen to do so). Shauna has spent much of the last two months since her friend’s death talking to the frozen corpse in the food storage area (unsanitary). Of course, Jackie would talk back to her too, as they got into discussion of Shauna and Jeff’s affair. Tiassa continuing her own crazy behavior, which will continue into the present day. And there is Lottie who is some kind of self-help cult leader and the person who had Natalie kidnapped at the end of season one. Don’t worry Nat, cause Misty is on the case.

Present day, I would think that Shauna would have been better about concealing a crime by this point in her life. Burning Adam’s license and things in her barbeque was just a silly way to get rid of evidence. Then, the art studio caper made no sense either. They can’t control their passions? Shauna and Jeff have sex and leave all kinds of DNA evidence around. And did they just use paint remover to ruin all the painting of her they found? Um… that is not a good choice.

Natalie and Lottie coming face to face at the end of the episode as her cult were burying an old naked man alive was weird, and probably not the best choice by Natalie, but she is a very impulsive character so I can believe that she would see her old teammate and head right forward to her.

A couple of strange choices were made this episode, including some new survivors in the wilderness (I assume they were the background characters in season one and now have more importance… aka Nikki and Paolo from LOST. We know what their fate turned out to be).

Grotesquerie S1 E9

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“Episode 9”

An intense episode that, once again, really throws my understanding of what is going on into a confused state… and I loved that.

It felt as if Lois was on a crusade to put things to rest before she moved down to Florida. She saw Marshall and gave him divorce papers (and he was downright cruel at this point), she saw her daughter for one final slap, and she continued dream therapy.

It was here where things started to go weird once more. It was suggested that Lois’s dream, specifically about the Burnside family, which had no connection to her own life, was Lois seeing the future.

Of course, Megan was arriving at a murder scene exactly like the Burnside murder in reality. Right down to the mystery contents of the boiling pot on the stove, which feels as if it is a secret that we will be getting in the finale.

Reality? Hm, I wonder.

When Lois met Megan at the hotel, Lois had her cut her arm so she could see her blood. That was supposed to be how Lois proved to herself that this was real… and then the most surreal thing happened, with Megan’s abusive boyfriend showing up and attacking her. Lois held a gun on him but he did not stop. He tormented Lois about being the dream woman and that she knew she couldn’t kill him. He went so far as to put the barrel of the gun Lois held into his own mouth.

And then she shot him.

That was an awesome moment. A-hole got what he deserved. However, I worry for Lois.

Still, I am not convinced that everything here is real life. The background TVs kept talking about the fires that were spreading, much like the final sections of Lois’s dreams, and I feel there may be something “biblical” going down.

Bates Motel S4 E6

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Spoilers

“The Vault”

The storyline between Norma and Chick came to a dramatic conclusion (or at least seems to have) as things came to a head. Chick had pressured Norma into telling him where Caleb was. Norma did not know, but she was able to find out. She met Chick on a bridge one rainy night, bringing out her gun. She had planned on shooting him, but she realized that she couldn’t do it. She screamed that she did not want Caleb hurt, but she could not kill him so Chick should just do what he was going to do… which was tell Alex the truth about Norma and Caleb as children.

This was a tremendous episode for Vera Farmiga, facing down Chick on the bridge and then ripping him a new one when he brought the window to her house. She ripped him a new one in front of Alex, which shocked him. He asked what was going on, and Norma told him the truth. All of it, about her teenage years and her brother. She expected Alex to leave her.

She told him to go pack his bag.

Alex said okay…. adding, “Where are we going?”

Such an amazing moment between these two broken characters, two people who found each other and have formed an amazing relationship. It was one that was unexpected, but they are truly in love. I have said it before, but this relationship between Norma and Alex is maybe my favorite relationship in all of TV. Maybe Penny and Desmond from LOST matches it, but nothing else in my head comes close.

Norma’s kids are going to be causing more issues soon. Norman, in his DID personality of Mother, is threatening Dr. Edwards in therapy sessions. Norman, as Mother, recounted a horrific memory of Norman’s father raping Norma. Norma has clearly had a terrible life, which makes the happiness she has found with Alex all the more special.

Dylan found the letter left with Norma by Emma’s mother and it has tweaked his curiosity. Bad tidings will be coming for this too.

I know there is not much more time left for Norma and every second of her time with Alex is precious, and will make the loss only all the more tragic.

The Greatest American Hero S1 E3

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Spoilers

“Here’s Looking at You, Kid”

Perhaps the title of this episode should have been “Here’s Looking Through You, Kid” instead because Ralph discovered a new power of the suit, invisibility. And, of course, he struggled controlling it.

Maxwell had Ralph trying to do telekinesis when Ralph disappeared. They then spent the rest of the episode with Ralph fading in and out of visual in the most inopportune times.

The Greatest American Hero’s strength as a show is the comedic moments between Ralph and Bill and this episode was very solid, from the fading in and out, to Ralph taking a bus so he did not have to fly. William Katt and Robert Culp really work as a wonderful team together.

There is a case that Bill is working on, but it is truly unimportant. It just provided Ralph and bill with bad guys to fight while the suit causes troubles.

We meet Pam’s parents in from Minnesota for the episode. June Lockhart was Pam’s mother and Bob Hastings was her father.

It was a fun episode that took a different power of the suit to mess around with.

Them: The Scare S2 E5, E6

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Spoilers

“Luke 8:17”

“Would You Like to Play a Game?”

Whoa. Some huge revelations dropped in these two episodes that made it a little clearer about what was going on… however, there are still some strange things going on.

I always thought Raggedy Andy was creepy.

Part of the intended confusion early in the show, the stuff that made me think that Edmond was only a copycat killer, was that he seemed like he had not killed before. I actually thought for a brief second last episode that these two stories going on we in different timelines, but I dismissed the idea quickly. Turns out, what we were seeing of Edmond was two years before the stuff with Dawn. Boom, mind blown.

Things go down hill quickly for Dawn Reeve. Edmond is her biological brother. She tries to save a little boy by taking him to the hospital and he dies in the back of her car. This little boy had told her that he was seeing a red-headed man who wanted to kill him. She is put on leave from her job because of this. The racist cops of the LAPD made things even worse, making sure that everything looked bad for her. McKinney is such an a-hole.

However, it is not as simple as Edmond is the killer. There is something supernatural going on too. How does that happen? Edmond hears voices. I do not think it is as simple as Edmond has mental illness. There is something deeper and darker going on.

The attack on Dawn’s son during his performance was frightening as could be, as was his breakdown in the classroom as he was seeing the red-headed man.

Wild speculation time: Does Dawn have something to do with these murders? I mean, more than just being connected to them or being Edmond’s sister? The missing time suggestion means something. What is it? Clearly, Dawn is not very stable at the moment and her life is falling down around her.

Deborah Ayorinde was outstanding in these two episodes. I am very conflicted by her character and I am not sure what this show is expecting me to think about everything. Is she just a victim? Or is there something more sinister going on?

Only two episodes remaining and there are a lot of questions with the show. Either way, this has really kicked into high gear, which was impressive because it was always very compelling already.

EYG Comic Cavalcade #89

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March 31, 2024

Happy Easter.

I’ve been picking up back issues on eBay and at Comic World quite a bit recently. It makes it easier to pick up back issues when I know what comics I already own. It is why my current process of cataloguing my comics on CLZ has been a great thing.

I had enough back issues available to warrant another EYG Comic Cavalcade, so after finishing and posting #88 yesterday, here comes post #89.

Monster Graphic Novel. Monster was a novel by Walter Dean Myers and it was adapted into the graphic novel format by Guy A. Sims. Art in the graphic novel was done by Dawud Anyabwile. I purchased this GN because of a new curriculum that we are looking at adding to my literacy class. The curriculum is HMH and it included this graphic novel in a unit. I purchased this hardcover version which was an old library copy as well as a soft cover version. I was actually reading this during down times as I was waiting to see if I would be selected for a jury. It is a story of a court case for a young boy who was accused of being the lookout in a robbery that led to a death. As the boy was on trial, he was picturing it as if he were making it into a movie. A very captivating read and very intriguing as I sat in the courthouse waiting to see if I had to do my civic duty (spoilers: I was not selected).

Groo the Wanderer #34-40. Written and drawn by EYG Hall of Famer Sergio Aragones. This was a run of the Marvel/Epic series featuring the classic klutzy barbarian. Yes, Groo can be repetitive. They take the same ten jokes or so and do so much with them. It’s why Sergio is such an amazing talent. When I had inventoried my Groo box, I had realized that I was missing more of that original Epic series than I had thought. This was some of the ones that I was missing. I absolutely love Groo.

Unknown Soldier #1-4. Written by Garth Ennis and art by Kilian Plunkett. Another character I loved when I was younger was DC Comics’ Unknown Soldier. I knew of this short series from DC’s Vertigo by Garth Ennis, but had never owned it. After coming across my Unknown Soldier books in my inventorying, I ordered this on eBay. This was very much different than the Unknown Soldier that I remembered, but every bit as thrilling and compelling. Setting the Soldier as more of a dark, morally-challenged character was smart and really worked in this context. I would recommend this to any fan of war stories/thrillers/mysteries. This would make a fantastic movie too.

Count Crowley: Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter trade paperback and issues #2,3. So this will take a little explanation. In yesterday’s Comic Cavalcade, I laid out the story of the first disappointment I had on eBay. This was actually a different kind of error from the site. I had ordered issue #4 of the original Count Crowley series. I had issues #1-3, and in fact, had included #1 in a previous Comic Cavalcade, but I was waiting to read the whole thing when I got the last missing issue. However, the seller who I had ordered #4 from did not send me #4, but, by accident, the trade paperback of all four combined (to be fair, they do share the same cover). I had contacted him about the error and he just said to keep the trade if I wanted. This was an error in my benefit, since I only paid like $3.99 for the trade paperback (yes, there was some shipping too). I went ahead and read the trade paperback, even though I am still waiting on a copy of issue four to complete my collection. This new horror book was written by David Dastmalchian (which is what attracted me to it in the first place), an actor who just starred in the excellent horror/found footage movie Late Night with the Devil. The art of the book was done by Lukas Ketner.

Count Crowley: Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter #1-2. The series by David Dastmalchian and Lukas Ketner continued where the original left off. There are werewolves, vampires, zombies (although called by a different name) and a host of a late night monster movie show. This has been a really creative and original concept and I look forward to the Dark Horse comic’s final two issues when they come out.

Marvel Chillers #5. “Cat and Mouse” Written by Tony Isabella and with art by Will Meugnot. Todd asked me if I wanted this book and the next one I’ll talk about. It was weird because both featured Tigra, who I like, but I was not a huge fan. I thought maybe Todd had mixed up Tigra with Hellcat, who I really do love. Truth, Tigra aka Greer Nelson was originally the Cat, the predecessor to Hellcat, so that might be what he was thinking. It looked like a cool addition to a collection so I said I would take it.

Spider-Woman #49. “Runaway.” Written by Ann Nocenti and penciled by Brian Postman. This was the other book Todd got for me that featured Tigra. This was in nice condition. A lot of times, these older back issues have paper inside that has faded from age. This story’s art inside still looked very good. This also had Jack Russell, Werewolf by Night in the book too.

Moonlighting S5 E4

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“Plastic Fantastic Lovers”

Season five continues to put the David-Maddie relationship on the back burner and focus on the cases with only a few references to the “Spaceman.”

This episode dealt with plastic surgery, and made me think about the episode from season two, The Lady in the Iron Mask. This time there was a man who had been horribly disfigured by a plastic surgeon that he wanted to find details to sue him. This is why he hired David and Maddie.

David did not want to take the case. This led to an interesting discussion of vanity between Dave and Maddie that continued to inform on their characters.

Of course, as any Moonlighting case, things are never exactly what you see and it leads to a wild, cartoonish chase scene.

There was a chainsaw too.

This episode did feel as if the writers were trying to reach back before the whole Dave and Maddie thing to capture some of the old magic of the show, and they did a fairly decent job of it. This had that same feeling of the third season, but the tension between Dave and Maddie was not here. I liked this episode, but you can see how it is just not quite the same.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E7

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“We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of”

I have really enjoyed this new series of the Percy Jackson shows on Disney +. Episode 7 has found Percy, Annabeth and Grover entering the Underworld, and in search of Hades in order to find the Master Bolt and save Percy’s mother.

It wasn’t going to be as easy as it sounded.

Who knew, but the Master Bolt was inside Percy’s bag. However, it was not Percy’s bag, but Ares’s. Ares had some kind of manipulative reason that he needed Percy to bring the bolt to the Underworld. We don’t know why yet, but I always love to see Adam Copeland.

We see some flashbacks to Percy as a child with his mother trying to get him into schools. The schools kept turning her down because of the way Percy was. (I have to say… every time I have tried to type the word Percy, in my head, I think Harry. I wonder why…)

When Percy and Grover came face to face with Hades, they discovered Ares’s lies. Of course, Hades isn’t going to help them without something on the line. 

We get a cool sequence with Cerberus too. The three headed dog that guards the Underworld chased our heroes around. The CGI looked really good for a TV show.

Percy and Ares faced off at the very end of the episode, setting up a huge showdown next week.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been excellent all season long. It does feel as if the show is a touch rushed, but it is a lot of fun.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians S1 E6

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“We Take a Zebra to Vegas”

This week’s Percy Jackson episode felt a touch more comedic than we have had over the first five. That was an interesting tone as Percy, Annabeth and Grover attempted to find Hermes, played by the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda. They had to go into a casino in Las Vegas called the Lotus, which leads to them to start forgetting details.

Based on the Odyssey, the Lotus was pumping forgetfulness into the air. While inside the casino, Grover forgot just about everything and went on a virtual quest to find Pan.

Meanwhile, Percy and Annabeth found Hermes, but discovered that time was passing slower inside the casino than it was outside, meaning that they missed the window to get into the Underworld. 

While this was still a solid episode, it did not feel as great as the last couple of weeks. However, it seems as if our trio is ready to head into the Underworld and complete their quest for the Master bolt. 

Not sure where the zebra comes into it though. Maybe I missed it.

Oh, and Percy is having dreams, including Hades in them. I was happy that he told Annabeth about it instead of just keeping them to himself. He’s a Greek demigod, dreams are part of the gig.