The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series, Books #1-4

Author: J. R. Ward
Series: The Black Dagger Brotherhood
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Genre: Action, Paranormal Romance

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood…

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed - orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate - Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before. Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frightens her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both…

Title: Dark Lover
Start & Finished: 3/21/08- 3/22/08
Published: 2005
Pages: 393

Vampires are some of the most compelling (and numerous) beings in paranormal romances but author J. R. Ward has raised the bar with her extremely popular Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Dark Lover is the first story about this slightly complex group of warriors who protect the innocent civilian vampire species from the evil Lessening Society but it’s core story is Wrath and Beth’s relationship (each Brother gets their own story in this way too).

For the past several years I have read tons of glowing reviews about the Brotherhood series so although I was still wary (especially after reading the glossary at the beginning) I finally gave in and read it. I quickly fell in love with this book even if some things (like the way the guys talk sometimes, especially since some are centuries old) drove me nuts but who can resist tormented vampire warriors in leather who kill bad guys? Needless to say, I picked up the next three books my library had the very next day.

I was impressed with how the author introduced the series and how she made each person in the huge cast of characters an individual so you're able to keep them all straight. However, I didn't really like how the narrative would switch over to the bad guys. Usually they have some redeeming qualities when an author lets their voice be heard but not so here- pure evil. Of course this made it all the more satisfying when one of the Brothers sent them back to re-meet their maker, the Omega.

The main character in Dark Lover is Wrath who is the king of his people (but he prefers not to be) -therefore he’s incredibly powerful:

Wrath was six feet, six inches of pure terror dressed in leather. His hair was
long and black, falling straight from a widow’s peak. Wraparound sunglasses hid
eyes that no one had ever seen revealed. Shoulders were twice the size of most
males’. With a face that was both aristocratic and brutal, he looked like the
king he was by birthright and the soldier he’d become by destiny. And that wave
of menace rolling ahead of him was one hell of a calling card.

He’s also almost completely blind. Each of the Brothers are “flawed” in a unique way but it helps define who they are and being all alpha males, their only weakness is their mate, with whom they bond with for life.

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast, Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He’s the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover- for inside him burns a ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the times when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships, is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant on Rhage’s protection. With a life- threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. She lost her faith in miracles years ago. But when Rhage’s intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves.

Title: Lover Eternal
Start & Finished: 3/22/08
Published: 2006
Pages: 464

After the overwhelming success of her first story Dark Lover in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, the second book Lover Eternal was published a mere five months later, something almost unheard of for a debut series! This particular story continues right were the first left off but Rhage is the main character instead of Wrath, although he along with the other Brothers are featured heavily throughout the story.

Rhage; also known as Hollywood because he’s drop-dead-gorgeous, is one of my favorite vampires in the Brotherhood. He’s just so yummy and yet lethal! I knew immediately after being introduced to him (and learning what his flaw was- he turns into a sort of dragon-beast, when threatened or hurt) in the first book that his would be one of the most interesting stories; besides Viscous and Zsadist’s, and I wasn’t disappointed.

J. R. Ward did a wonderful job convincing the reader and the characters themselves that Mary, although human, was the mate for this particular vampire warrior since she also has an internal affliction in the form of cancer. I loved them together because they truly seemed to connect but by the end of the book I just didn’t care for Mary as much. I’m hoping that will change in the future books though.

Besides Rhage and Mary’s relationship, quite a few other things- some good, some very, very bad happen throughout the course of Lover Eternal. The reader gets an even closer look into the lives of the Brotherhood while the war with the Lessening Society gets even uglier with more losses on both sides. My advice: after the shocking ending of this book, you might want to have the next story, Lover Awakened on hand to start immediately afterwards!

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Of these, Zsadist is the most terrifying member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion and terror his only passion- until he rescues a beautiful female from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for each other begins to overtake them, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past and find a future with her…

Title: Lover Awakened
Start & Finished: 3/22/08- 3/24/08
Published: 2006
Pages: 462

J. R. Ward has claimed on many occasions that her favorite vampire in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series is the main character from Lover Awakened, Zsadist. Set a little more than a month after Lover Eternal, Zsadist is still relentlessly searching for Bella, and killing the evil members of the society that took her. Once he rescues her, she realizes he is in need of rescuing too from the internal demons that have pursued him for centuries.

Of all the Brothers so far, Zsadist’s story is it is the most heartbreaking. As Phury says, each of the Brothers is missing a part (or in the case of Rhage, has an unwanted part) and Zsadist’s is the fact that he was a blood slave for several years that was physically, emotionally, and sexually abused until Phury, his twin rescued him. By then it was too late since he had seemed to have lost most of his soul which made him all the more appealing to me (even though his evil streak did bother me sometimes).

Bella is my favorite shellan in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. She seems like the only person who could heal Zsadist. Its amazing how the author made such a damaged character that none of the Brothers really liked or trusted not only appealing but she also makes you fall in love with him.

Like all of the books, there are several little side plots going on throughout the story like Butch and Marissa‘s relationship, the Lessers get a new leader, Vishous gets more “screen time” (since his story is next in the series) and the reader finally finds out what his hand can do and why it’s so lethal. I also loved the little implied hints about John aka Tehrror and I can’t wait to find out more about him too so hopefully he gets his own book.

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other - six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. But now an ally of the Brotherhood is about to encounter his own dark desires…

Butch O’Neal is a fighter by nature. A hard-living ex-homicide cop, he’s the only human ever to be allowed in the inner circle of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. And he wants to go even deeper into the vampire world- to engage in the turf war with the lessers. He’s got nothing to lose. His heart belongs to a female vampire, an aristocratic beauty who’s way out of his league. If he can’t have Marissa, then at least he can fight side by side with the Brothers…

Fate curses him with the very thing he wants. When Butch sacrifices himself to save a civilian vampire from the slayers, he falls prey to the darkest force in the war. Left for dead, he’s found by a miracle, and the Brotherhood calls on Marissa to bring him back. But even her love may not be enough to save him…

Title: Lover Revealed
Start & Finished: 3/24/08- 3/25/08
Published: 2007
Pages: 455

Lover Revealed is the fourth story in J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood and it’s two main characters are Butch (aka Cop) and Marissa. Both of the main characters have been on the outskirts of the vampire community throughout the series. Butch because he’s human- the first human to ever fraternize with the Brotherhood ever- and Marissa because the vampire king Wrath (from Dark Lover) chose another woman over her and is therefore considered to be damaged goods by the vampire aristocracy.

I have to admit I was one of the people who were disappointed to learn that the author had decided to tell Butch’s story next instead of one of the other Brothers but I thought at least I could enjoy the many side plots throughout the book. Of course, I quickly got over my hang-ups and loved the whole thing even if I still didn’t care for Butch’s personality by the end. I was however thrilled that the females in the series are finally doing their part in helping take care of the vampire civilians.

Besides Zsadist’s mate Bella, I didn’t really care for any of the other females in this series and until this book; I didn’t really like Marissa either. She eventually won me over though because she’s just so compassionate and although she had been treated as if she was made of glass her whole life, she is able to survive and thrive in a different lifestyle than she is used to. Moreover, she really enjoys helping people and working in the shelters she helped create. It was wonderful to see her grow a backbone and stop being a pushover too!

There are many things about this series I loved but the main one would be the fact that although all of the Brothers lay their lives on the line nightly they aren’t heroic, however, they‘re such good guys! Each Brother has some kind of affliction, they’re super sexy, and of course they’re vampires (almost all vampires are born not bitten). Like I said, the entire series is complex and hard to explain since so many things happen in each book and you get to know all the characters too: Wrath, Vishous, Rhage, Zsadist, etc. All of whom would make any shellan happy!

The Black Dagger Brotherhood Series: Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Lover Enshrined

Wikipedia has an article on The Black Dagger Brotherhood as well as on the author (under her real name Jessica Bird) and I joined J. R. Ward’s yahoo group about the Brotherhood too. I also found two interviews from 2006 and one from 2008. Lifetime's B(u)y the Book has a few videos with author too like why the Brothers are so appealing in addition to the ones below.

Author Discusses Writing:


Author Discusses Her Series:

Living the American Dream

Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe team with director Ridley Scott in this powerful, epic story. Armed with ruthless, streetwise tactics and a strict sense of honor, crime boss Frank Lucas (Washington) rules Harlem's chaotic drug underworld. When outcast cop Richie Roberts (Crowe) sets out to bring down Lucas's multimillion dollar empire, it plunges both men into a legendary confrontation.

Title: American Gangster
Release: November 2, 2007
Genre: Crime Drama
Writer: Marc Jacobson (article) & Steven Zaillian
Director: Ridley Scott
Music By: Marc Streitenfeld
Produced By: Brian Grazer & Ridley Scott
Distributed By: Universal Pictures
Run Time: 176 minutes
Official Site

Ridley Scott has directed a few wonderful movies like Hannibal, Gladiator, & Thelma and Louise (just to name a few) so I knew American Gangster should be good and the trailers just about confirmed it for me. Even though it was met with quite a few mixed reception by the critics, the box office numbers (and the many award nominations... and wins) don’t lie, this was one fantastic film!

Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe's characters were so compelling that even I wasn't sure if I should root for the gangsters or the cops- especially since a good majority of the cops were dirty. One of the reasons it was hard to pick a side was that the two main adversaries (Frank Lucas played by Washington and Detective Roberts played by Crowe) were a lot alike but just happened to be on opposites sides of the law. I also loved Ruby Dee in this film (she plays Washington’s mother) and apparently I’m not alone because she was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar and quite a few other awards as well.

An amazing, edgy, dark film that was even more interesting since it was based on the story of Frank Lucas; the real drug lord and one of the most notorious gangsters in America, whom I must say Denzel Washington should have won, or at least been nominated for an Oscar for playing. I thought it was really interesting that they had some of the actual real people that the movie portrays on set too. Of course, more than half of the film was more “Hollywood than real,” I still thought it was a great “crime” movie with an incredible cast and even better plot.

Reelz Channel has tons of interesting behind-the-scenes looks, interviews, and even reviews on their page about American Gangster (all in video format). Wikipedia and Imdb.com have their own respective pages as well.

Trailer:


Original Song:


Washington Talks About Lucas:

It's a Dangerous Job but No One Else Can Do It

"Since the lightning snaked through the window of the trailer in Texarkana when I was fifteen, I've been able to locate corpses. Think about it. Caveman corpses, Native American corpses, the early settlers, the more recently deceased- that's a lot of dead people, and they all let me know where their earthly remains were interred..."

Hired to find a boy gone missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver head there- only to discover that the boy was only one of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways.

All calling to Harper.

Harper soon finds them- eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterwards, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's about to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long- hidden secrets of Doraville- knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice cold grave...

Title: An Ice Cold Grave
Author: Charlaine Harris
Series: Harper Connelly, Book 3
Start & Finished: 3/20/08
Published: 2007
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime
Pages: 280
Genre: Mystery-Paranormal

After being struck by lightning, many people have claimed to be able to do things that aren’t considered exactly normal but Harper Connelly may have the most interesting ability of them all: she finds dead bodies. An Ice Cold Grave is the third book in this amazing series by one of the best paranormal mystery writers of today, Charlaine Harris.

Many mystery heroines find dead bodies and solve their murders but Charlaine Harris’ Harper Connelly is the only one who can actually not only locate the departed but also get a glimpse of their last moments and learn the cause of death too (just not who killed them if they were murdered). Because of this the Harper series is my second favorite series by Charlaine Harris (the first being her Sookie Stackhouse). You wouldn’t think the Harpers are her darkest series since there are vampires, weres, and other creatures in the Sookies but this is definitely the grittier of the two.

Harper’s love life takes an interesting turn in Ice Cold too. I personally find it a little icky, but I guess that’s what makes it even more real because you can’t choose who you love. It was remarkably clever of the author to let something good happen to her heroine since she is investigating her first mass grave (Harper empathizes with the victims) and has a serial killer after her. As long as Harper keeps doing what she does, I’ll keep reading this truly unique series.

The Harper Connelly Series: Grave Sight, Grave Surprise, & An Ice Cold Grave

Dr. Seuss Animated Adaptations

Poor Horton. Dr. Seuss's kindly elephant is persuaded to sit on an egg while its mother, the good-for-nothing bird lazy Mayzie, takes a break. Little does Horton know that Mayzie is setting off for a permanent vacation in Palm Springs. He waits, and waits, never leaving his precarious branch, even through a freezing winter and a spring that's punctuated by the insults of his friends. ("They taunted. They teased him. They yelled 'How Absurd! Old Horton the Elephant thinks he's a bird!'") Further indignities await, but Horton has patience and he is rewarded in the end.

Title: Horton Hatches the Egg
Release: April 11, 1942
Genre: Animated Short
Writer: Dr. Seuss (book) & Michael Maltese
Director: Robert Clampett
Music By: Carl W. Stalling
Produced By: Leon Schlesinger
Distributed By: Warner Brothers
Run Time: 10 minutes

The first person to have a go at adapting Ted Geisel’s (better known as Dr. Seuss) work was his friend Robert Clampett who was currently working at the Warner Brothers studio producing the animated cartoon shorts known as Merrie Melodies. Working together using the “mash-up of Clampett’s craziness and the Seussian rhyme and style” , they recreated Seuss’ fourth published story Horton Hatches the Egg.

Such a great cartoon! There are pop culture references (Mayzie does a great Katharine Hepburn impersonation) and of course the humor you would expect to get from a Warner Brothers animated short but I was so pleased that the Seussian essence of the original story was still there. Even the overall look of it has a Seuss flair. I meant what I said and I said what I meant, this cartoon is faithful almost 100%.

Dr. Seuss' classic of a jungle elephant named Horton teaches us what it means to be a true friend. Hearing a faint cry for help from a floating speck of dust, Horton finds a tiny planet of Whos living there. Though he can't see them, he hears them for sure - and puts his safety on the line for microscopic inhabitants. Thanks to Dr. Who-Vee and Horton, Whoville is saved and a lasting friendship is created.

Title: Horton Hears a Who!
Release: 1970
Genre: Animated TV Special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Chuck Jones & Ben Washam
Music By: Eugene Poddany & Dr. Seuss (lyrics)
Produced By: Chuck Jones & Theodor Geisel
Distributed By: Warner Brother
Run Time: 26 minutes

Dr. Seuss’s finest elephant made his first appearance in his book Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) and fourteen years later he was the subject of another story Horton Hears a Who! Although both were bestsellers, the latter has been made into more films. Quite a lot of the original Dr. Seuss material appears throughout this adaptation but there are a few major changes like names and some of the story. For example: it’s not the Who mayor that is in contact with Horton, it’s a scientist named Dr. H. Who-Vee (the Who who bears a slight resemblance to Dr. Seuss himself) and no one believed him about there being a world outside of Whoville- just like no one believed Horton about the Whos.

This short adaptation is wonderful! Dr. Seuss’ touch is evident (especially in the songs, which were composed by Eugene Poddany who also worked with Seuss on his Cat in the Hat Song Book in 1967) throughout the film even when it takes an off beaten track from the original story. I also loved the overall look of this Peabody award winning TV special because it’s by the same people who worked on How the Grinch Stole Christmas (matter of fact there are a few reused scenes from it) and you can really tell because it’s just that good.

In an animated version of one of the most beloved of all Dr. Seuss tales, two youngsters find themselves at home with nothing to do on a rainy afternoon. But when the magical, mischievous Cat in the Hat arrives on the scene, they're all cat-apulted into a day of rousing, romping, outlandish antics they-and you-will never forget!

Title: The Cat in the Hat
Release: March 10, 1971
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Hawley Pratt
Music By: Dean Elliott
Produced By: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, Theodor Geisel
Distributed By: DePatie- Freleng Enterprises (DFE)
Run Time: 25 minutes

Obviously one of the most well-known and loved of Seuss’ creations is The Cat in the Hat. Dr. Seuss himself used the cat for many personal drawings to family and friends the rest of his life as well as created six stories that the cat either starred in or was a part of. The lovable rascal also appeared in many adaptations by the DFE (DePatie- Freleng Enterprises) cartoon specials but the Cat’s first screen appearance was in this animated special.

If I was going to pick my favorite Seuss character it would have to be Horton the elephant or the Grinch but the most celebrated creation of his is The Cat in the Hat. Maybe it’s just me but I actually liked the fish, Mr. Krinlebein more. In this TV special he’s voiced by the very talented Dawes Butler who also did the voice for Yogi Bear and many others (Allan Sherman lends his voice to the Cat). I also had a slight issue with one or two songs even though I loved the lyrics (they seem pure Seuss to me) but the score just doesn’t sound right. Other than a few other nitpicks, this was a great adaptation even if Thing 2 and Thing 1 gave me the creeps!

The award-winning tale of The Lorax tells the story of the greedy, tree-chopping Once-lers and the brave little Lorax who speaks up for the vanishing Truffla trees. Only to be pushed aside in favor of progress.

Title: The Lorax
Release: February 14, 1972
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Hawley Pratt
Music By: Dean Elliott
Produced By: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng, Theodor Geisel
Distributed By: DePatie- Freleng Enterprises
Run Time: 25 minutes

There are one or two controversial books written by Dr. Seuss over the years. His 1971 release was The Lorax which is a pollution and environmental damage awareness story that made quite a few people angry but has since been acclaimed as genius. The DePatie- Freleng Enterprises (who have made more Seuss adaptations than anyone) created this animated TV special a year after the book came out.

The Lorax was my favorite DFE animated feature because not only was it faithful to the original story, it also expanded on it. The short little film is an adept look at progress. I wonder what the Lorax would say about the way life is like now, nearly forty years since Ted Geisel created him?

The Hoober-Bloob Highway is a path of light connected to Earth that leads to a floating island in the sky. On that island lives Mr. Hoober-Bloob who; assisted by a self-playing instrument, sends babies and other animals to live on Earth but only if they want to go.

Title: The Hoober-Bloob Highway
Release: February 19, 1975
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Alan Zaslove
Music By: Dean Elliott
Produced By: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng, Theodor Geisel
Distributed By: DePatie- Freleng Enterprises
Run Time: 30 minutes

The Hoober-Bloob Highway was another one of the few animated films created that Ted Geisel wrote everything for (even the lyrics to the music) without his alter ego Dr. Seuss having written a book for it first. This short, artistic film was actually nominated for the Outstanding Children’s Special Emmy in 1975.

Although I didn’t hate this colorful musical, I also can’t claim it’s my favorite. There is a reason why it’s not shown quite as often as some of the other stuff Geisel had a hand in. It certainly had a lot of neat parts but while the song lyrics were good, the final composed product just didn’t mesh quite right and the pacing was kind of slow too. I did notice quite a few scenes that are in some of Seuss’ other books but for the most part it was just a crazy little film.

A young man named Pontoffel Pock wishes he could get away and his wish is granted by the fairy McGillicuddy who gives him a magical, musical piano that takes him anywhere he wants to go. When he loses his new love and his way home, Pontoffel Pock is determined to find them again!

Title: Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You?
Release: May 2, 1980
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Gerard Baldwin
Music By: Joe Raposo
Produced By: David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng, Theodor Geisel
Distributed By: DePatie- Freleng Enterprises
Run Time: 25 minutes

The DFE also created Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? which was another of the few things that Ted Geisel lent himself to that wasn’t based on a book he had written (as Dr. Seuss of course). This cartoon was nominated for an Emmy along with another DePatie-Freleng Pink Panther in the Olym-pinks but unfortunately neither cartoon won.

I thought it was interesting to be sure, but again not the best. I think it was all of the singing that threw me off, only about ten to fifteen minutes total is spoken instead of sung (not that the singing is bad! There is just too much). The film is animated in that classic DFE look but the Seussian remains distinctive too. I would love to see all of the TV specials by this company completely remastered!

In the Emmy award-winning tale of The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat, Dr. Seuss's two most popular characters square off in a whimsical, Seuss-style showdown as the ever-clever Cat puts the gloomy Grinch in his place!

Title: The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat
Release: May 20, 1982
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Bill Perez
Music By: Joe Raposo
Produced By: Friz Freleng & Theodor Geisel
Distributed By: DePatie- Freleng Enterprises & Marvel Productions, Ltd.
Run Time: 25 minutes

The last of the DePatie- Freleng animated cartoons was The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat and they certainly went out with a bang! It won two Emmy awards for both of the animated categories beating two Smurf cartoons and two Charlie Brown ones as well.

Oh boy! The Grinch decided to grinch the wrong person that day! Of course the laidback, easy-going Cat in the Hat showed him the error of his ways. You would expect a kind of Bugs Bunny- type of showdown but that’s not this Cat’s style. However he does get fed up with the Grinch stealing everyone’s sound, light, and colors (you have to see some of those creations). I think this was my second favorite DFE production (The Lorax was the best), they should have merged with Marvel even sooner!

Let the Butter Battle Begin! The Zooks and the Yooks are at war over butter and bread - on which side should one spread? It starts with sticks and with stones. Gets bigger, grows badder, everyone's a bit madder. There's a lesson to learn for those who must fight... a war is never won despite all one's might.

Title: The Butter Battle Book
Release: November 13, 1989
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Ralph Bakshi
Produced By: Ralph Bakshi & Ted Geisel
Distributed By: Bakshi Productions
Run Time: 25 minutes

Rarely did Dr. Seuss have any kind of big statement to make in his books but when he did, he didn't back down, especially in The Butter Battle Book! When he was pressured to have it end with on an uplifting note by his publishers, he refused. Five years after it was published (it was the only book of his that has been censored), Ralph Bakshi teamed up to create one of Seuss’ mos faithful adaptations.

The Butter Battle Book is a very satirical view at the nuclear arms race by trying to show how silly war is when everyone can and probably will be blown to bits. All over which way a person buttered their bread (butter side up, or down), kind of like in Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift when a war is started over which way to crack an egg. I actually found both Seuss’ creation and this adaptation kind of sad really, but at least Chris Recarrdi did a really good job animating it!

Narrated by The Cat in the Hat (voiced by Henry Gibson), Daisy-Head Mayzie is the story of a little girl who one day, grows a flower out of the top of her head!

Her classmates, teacher, and principal can't believe their eyes and her parents are shocked. Finagle, the agent (voiced by Tim Curry) is the only person who seems happy about the situation. He helps turn Mayzie and her Daisy into a world-wide marketing sensation.

What happens when she tires of her fame and fortune?

Title: Daisy- Head Mayzie
Release: February 5, 1995
Genre: Animated TV special
Writer: Dr. Seuss
Director: Tony Collingwood
Music By: Philip Appleby
Produced By: Audrey Geisel, Christopher O’Hare, Buzz Potamkin
Distributed By: Hannah- Barbera Productions
Run Time: 30 minutes

Nominated for the prestigious Annie and Emmy awards, Daisy-Head Mayzie was a script that Dr. Seuss’ widow Audrey Geisel found after he died (there are several other posthumous works too) and allowed it to be filmed. Hannah-Barbera won the bidding war for the right to make the cartoon and they added a bit of the Seuss whimsy to the animation while still keeping with their own style.

A great Seuss story! I thought it was very cute, but it could have probably done without the moral lesson; something I’m sure Seuss himself never would have put in, so it must have been added at the last minute but I still liked it and Tim Curry was really good as the sleazy agent too.


Other Seuss Adaptations: How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Halloween is Grinch Night

Theodor Geisel aka Dr. Seuss has plenty of pages dedicated to him and his many varied works including a National Memorial but Wikipedia has many pages linked to him and his adaptations too. I also stumbled across a great article about this amazing author on Animated Views.

Horton Hatches the Egg:


Cat in the Hat Clip:


The Lorax Clip:


Grinch Grinches Clip:

Go Camel-Tipping!

I’m Lucille Robinson (aka Jaz Parks).

This is a mission unlike anything my vampire boss, Vayl, and I have ever been on. It’s not our usual take-them-out-and-run; it’s an undercover mission that needs the whole gang: a psychic, an interpreter, and a weapons specialist.

We’ve never gone in with such heavy artillery before, but the more the merrier, right? Um…. Nope. At least not since Vayl and I learned that part of our job is to ferret out a mole concealed in our unit.

To add to our problems, we’re being harried by a pack of reavers bent on revenge, and targeted by a Seer who wants to share Vayl’s power - at any cost. This is going to be a blast.

Title: Biting the Bullet
Author: Jennifer Rardin
Series: Jaz Parks, Book 3
Start & Finished: 3/18/08
Published: 2008
Publisher: Orbit
Pages: 336
Genre: Paranormal-Adventure

Proclaimed by many as Bond meets Buffy (or as "Bond meets Dracula- only better" as Patricia Briggs put it), Jennifer Rardin’s Jaz Parks continues her butt-kicking ways in the current story in this series Biting the Bullet. Jaz goes to the Middle East in this book and discovers that her friends, family, and even herself are in even more danger than she thought. Not even a trip into Hell itself will deter her from saving them all.

I discovered this series in January shortly before this one came out in March? thanks to one of the blogs I read. After flying through the first two books I was so happy I wouldn’t have to wait long to read the next one. Of course it was taking my library forever to get the book so when I stumbled across a contest for it at Jaye’s Blahg that she was hosting for the author I signed up and then I actually won! About a week later, it arrived and I read it that very night. I still think it’s so cool that Jennifer Rardin autographed it too.

As much as I love this series, I think this is the best book yet. Well at least until the next one, Bitten to Death comes out! It’s an action-packed story (kind of like what the first couple of Anita Blake books were like) with really great characters, funny dialogue on every page (at random: “When you’re in my biz and you walk into an arsenal, something inside you springs to its feet and starts yelling, “Yipee!” pg. 223), scary blood and soul-sucking bad guys, save the world type of plots, etc. It makes you wonder just how long Jaz is going to survive but at the same time you know that anyone as interesting and amazing as her won’t be killed off any time soon.

The Jaz Parks Series: Once Bitten Twice Shy, Another One Bites the Dust, Biting the Bullet, Bitten to Death (August ‘08), One More Bite (January ‘09)

The first book in this series Once Bitten, Twice Shy was the first book that Jennifer Rardin had ever had published and it came out in 2007, so other than a lot of good buzz and some interviews with bloggers there isn’t too much publicity out there for her books.