Zoo Tycoon

I'm a big fan of Sim Theme Park, but lost the disk some time ago so I was looking for a game to replace it. My husband bought me a few $10 games to keep me out of his hair while he writes his book and Zoo Tycoon was one of them. It is a pretty good replacement for Sim Theme Park, but only because of the graphics and controls. The premise of the game is, well, only kind of different. You still need to get people into your park, you have to take care of their needs (restrooms, food, drinks, gift shops, etc) and you still have to do the research in order to upgrade your exhibits. The big difference is that you're working with animals. They also have needs a lot like the people who come to your park (eat, drink, shelter, zoo keepers, etc) that are much more difficult to deal with than the human needs. The zoo keepers don't always do what you want them to, the maintenance workers are more likely to clean than to actually fix the exhibit walls, so animals can escape. Also, true to life, the animals have babies and in the end most die of old age. You have to make sure that their enclosure is big enough and if too many babies are had, the exhibit gets crowded and the animals unhappy. The best part about the version I have is that it came with the Dino Digs and Marine Mania expansions so I get to play with such animals as Great White Sharks, Beluga Whales, Wooly Mammoths and even Loch Ness Monsters, though the escaping with the Dino Digs animals gets much worse than with the regular animals. The game is tons of fun, totally worth the money and making me want to pick up Zoo Tycoon 2 and its expansion packs.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix PC Game

As my husband is writing a book and unable to spend much quality time with me til it's done, he bought me some computer games, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was one of them. It was much less expensive to get the PC game than to have to buy a Wii and the Wii game, so I settled. The controls are a bit weird to me since I have to move with the keyboard and cast spells with the mouse, but it's getting much easier now. I really like the game, although it gets quite frustrating when trying to complete the tasks at hand. They changed a few things from the movie and prior games, but for the most part they aren't really noticeable. The most noticeable thing and probably most annoying thing is that you have to pick up many secret items and as you go Myrtle comes to tell you that more items are available in the Room of Rewards. I love the Room of Rewards, but Myrtle gets horribly annoying especially if you work to get the secret items. The items that become available in the Room of Rewards are videos talking about how they made the game (there might be others, but I'm only 1/2 way through the game so I've only seen these ones). Anyway, I love the game and it was completely worth the $10 my husband spent on it. It would probably be worth it for the PS2, Wii or Xbox games too.

Jersey Boys CD

My mom heard how much I absolutely loved the Jersey Boy Musical in Chicago, so she got me the CD. She shouldn't have wasted her money. I seriously don't know how Bob Gaudio actually let this leave the studio. I don't know how they let this guy play Frankie Valli. John Lloyd Young's voice is so different, he sounded nothing like Frankie Valli, but then again, I've been listening to Frankie Valli since before my birth so I can be quite critical. My biggest complaint with him is he pronounced a lot of his words differently than Frankie Valli does, very noticeably is how he pronounces his "Y"s and that when he switches from regular singing to falsetto it is no where near as effortless as Frankie Valli where Jerrod's is much smoother. The Bass Singer was no where near good enough. This CD has the original cast, I saw the Chicago cast and they were in a completely different league than the originals, so much better it's indescribable. I hate to be critical of singers, because I'm a singer and have been criticized my entire life, but these people deserve it. In Chicago, I could tell that Jerrod Spector studied Frankie Valli, lived Frankie Valli, where on this CD you can tell for John Lloyd Young this was just a job. Plus, the sound mixing was off and the original charm of the harmonies replaced with a mechanical choppiness that very poorly represented the Four Seasons. I can't believe that Bob Gaudio would allow Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons to be represented so horribly on this CD. If you're producing Beauty and the Beast you don't have to be so careful with your casting, but if you're producing Jersey Boys or any other musical based on a real group, you need to be much, much more careful about your casting, because of people like me, who have loved Frankie Valli for as long as I can remember. People who will hear the difference within the first few notes that are sung. I'm really disappointed with the casting staff for the original musical, it's unbelievable that such a poor representation actually made it to stage. If you can, see the show in person with Jerrod Spector as Frankie Valli, if you can't try someone other than the originals, if you still can't afford to see Jersey Boys in person, it might be worth buying the CD, but only if you're not a fan of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. If you're a fan, don't waste your money.

How I Met Your Mother

I'm a huge fan of HIMYM and have been since it's pilot. Since then, I've been telling my husband that Barney and Robin should get together, and I'm so happy they finally did. Although, I would like them to be more than a passing thing and with the news that Britney is coming back, I'm afraid it won't be. The cast has such great chemistry and play off each other so well. I know a lot of that is the writers, so Kudos to the writers, but the actors have to be good to pull off some of the stuff the writers come up with. I'm very impressed with Neil Patrick Harris as Barney, he is funny, delivers his lines perfectly and makes me believe that in real life he could be a womanizing bastard. I love Lily. Alyson Hannigan is also amazing, but I'm a huge fan of her's from Buffy and American Pie so that might be why I think she's amazing, though I do worry a bit that she is being type cast here. Also, I really miss the hunt for the Mother. I know that the show will essentially end when they reveal who the person is, but for the first couple seasons, they managed to keep it interesting and keep up the hunt. I am also upset that so far, I haven't seen that CBS has picked HIMYM up for the Fall. This is one of the better comedies on TV right now and the CBS execs need to realize that. So CBS Execs, if you're out there and you're reading this, please renew HIMYM.

Cooking Quest

This is a fun hidden object game, with a twist. After you've found everything in the 4 different levels, you need to cook the food you've found or bought in the levels. As you find the items, you can make more money by finding them quicker, which allows you to buy better quality food items for cooking. The better the quality of items, the better your score in the end. It only took me a couple hours to finish the game, but it was fun and worth the money, since I should be able to go back and play it again.

The Game of Life - Path to Success

I was hoping that this would be the Game of Life, but it's a Diner Dash style game. You have to manage your everyday life (family, spouse, etc.) with your work or college life. You do things like make coffee for your family, pick up the newspaper, deliver your work or college papers, and cook for your family. It's a fun game, but not worth the money.

Miss Teri Tale

This Hidden Object game was tedious and not really very much fun at all. The objects were too easy to find and the premise was dumb. You are playing as Miss Teri Tale, an author who moves to a small town to find her inspiration. Her neighbor's dog gets dognapped and someone blackmails her into figuring out who took the dog. The game only took a couple hours to complete and was completely not worth the money.

Big Brother 9 Again

I've officially given up on Big Brother for this season. No one is left who actually deserves to win, and I'm so sick of the crap going on in the house. They aren't real because they know the cameras are on them all the time. It's just so sickening what Big Brother has become. I loved Big Brother in the first few seasons, but now, it's old and with them trying to make sure that the contestants "expect the unexpected", it's actually gotten boring. They need to do like survivor did and go back to the old ways from the first few seasons. The other thing that has been bothering me is that they are using Big Brother to promote other shows like Jericho that they were going to cancel anyway. Julie is predictable these days and though I love her, she needs lessons from Jeff Probst on how to provoke the answers she wants out of people. I'm done with this season, but will probably watch next.

Dream Chronicles 2

This game is a great continuation of the first. I love these kinds of games, the ones that are hidden object and puzzle at the same time. The only problem is that it is completely frustrating that I can't find the things I need or where they go. I like the game, but the frustration is starting to get to me. I think it's worth the money, but can't really know for sure. I've found a couple places for help, but they don't help much. I just know that I've been playing this game all day and still haven't gotten half way through.

Growing Up...

While I was in Chicago, I found this most wonderful TV show on Animal Planet called Growing Up... It takes you through the trials of different animals in their growth and how amazing people take them in and raise them. The first one I saw was Growing Up Black Leopard and it made me want to learn to help in a sanctuary like that at some point. I've also seen Tiger, Walrus, Lynx and a bunch of others, but every one make me want to watch more. I've found that it comes on Animal Planet at 10 am EDT and 4 pm EDT if you want to watch. If you love animals, it's worth your time.

A Tribute to Wally Bronner

Today is a very sad day for anyone who has had the pleasure of strolling through Bronner's and feeling the real spirit of Christmas. Though Bronner's will still be there, the part I loved most will never happen again. It was always a pleasure to walk through Bronner's and see Wally greeting people or signing books. He was one of the nicest men I have or will ever meet in my entire life. The thing that impressed me most about Wally was his passion for making sure Christ stayed in Christmas no matter what. Sure, Bronner's sold other holiday items, but their focus was always on Christmas. The other thing that really impressed me, with all of the people who he met on a daily basis, he always remembered me. My name is original so I guess it's not that hard to believe, but I got the impression I wasn't the only one he remembered. I think that Wally loved the people as much as he did Christmas. Because of that, his influence and passion will be passed down for generations and not just in his family, but to the families of everyone who he touched.

I don't mourn for Wally because I know that he is "Now with his Christ of Christmas", but I do mourn for his family and their great loss. He was unique, caring, kind-hearted, giving, loving, funny, passionate and well, that list could go on forever. As for me, I would rather miss Wally than to never have met him, he touched my life and the lives of everyone he met. I feel sorry for those of you who never had the chance to meet Wally, who never had him touch your life, but he will always live on in the Christmas Wonderland that bears his name, Bronner's.

Hell's Kitchen 4

I watched the new season of Hell's Kitchen tonight and was completely disappointed. It started out slow and pretty boring. Chef Ramsey seems to have calmed down a lot and the new chefs, well, I cook better than any of them. I know I could never pass Chef Ramsey's tests, but I can still cook better than any of the chefs this season. I'm glad that Scott is back, but don't really like the new woman Sous Chef. As for my favorites, well, I think that Louross and Rosann for now. Hopefully this season will get more interesting, I'm not sure how much more boring reality TV I can sit through. I'll keep watching, but only because I love Hell's Kitchen.

Plant Tycoon

It's been around a while, but I just recently decided to go back to playing Plant Tycoon. I love most Tycoon games so this one interests me. I love mixing the pollens and coming up with different and strange new varieties of plants. My biggest problem with this game is that it takes so long to do anything. Not only does it take around 45 minutes for a single plant to grow in fast mode, you can't really play with new varieties until you have the better soils and in order to get the better soils you have to have money and money comes from selling plants. See the problem? It might not be a problem for someone who is patient, but I'm really not. I do like this game and will continue to play, I'll just be playing other games at the same time. Plant Tycoon is worth the money if you are patient.