Happy Halloween plus Thriller animated video

A friend found this 3-D animation of the late Michael Jackson's hit music video, "Thriller," on YouTube. All the cast members are animals (Michael Jackson's character resembles a monkey). I thought it was funny and excellent. It also followed the original music video very well. For those of you who are too old to trick-and-treat, make sure you visit your local haunted houses and hit the dance clubs/costume parties! Have a safe and happy Halloween!

'Grimm' (NBC) Season Premiere

The second new fairy tale series is Grimm. It is about a Portland, OR police detective, who discovers he is a descendant of the famous Grimm family, special crime fighters responsible for keeping mythological shape-shifting wolves and other creatures from the door of civilized society. With the ability to see their true forms, it is his destiny as a hunter to destroy the creatures before they wreak havoc on society. The first episode will premiere on Friday, October 28, 2011 on NBC. You may watch the preview trailer below.

Huffington Post: Ghost Towns of the World

The Huffington Post has a photo slideshow about ghost towns around the world. More eerily, two of the towns happen to be in my native state, Michigan.

Click here for more information about the book by National Geographic.

'Once Upon a Time' Season Premiere

ABC will launch a new TV series, Once Upon a Time, that combines fairy tale magic with contemporary suspense. Personally, I am intrigued by the twist in the plot: In a magical land, Prince Charming saves Snow White. Just before they officially wed, the evil witch appears in the court and curses the kingdom to another time and place where the main characters are ignorant of their past lives. It premiers Sunday, October 23, 2011 at 8:00pm Eastern Time.


Trailer


Pilot Sneak Peak

And here is the rest of it.

Review: Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro (2007-2008)

Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro ~Neuro: Supernatural Detective~ (2007-2008) is a Japanese supernatural detective anime about a demon searching for the ultimate mystery. In English, the title translates to "Demonic Detective Nougami Neuro." This series contain 25 episodes.

Yako Katsuragi's father was murdered in a locked room. Then, she meets Neuro Nougami, who is a demon from Hell who feasts on puzzles and riddles. He forces Yako to act as a detective so that he can solve mysteries. He comes to the human world because he has eaten every mystery in the demon world. He featss on mysteries offered by humans who release negative energy from their planned crimes. Yako teams up with Neuro to solve crimes for his appetite and investigate her father's mysterious murder.

After solving many crimes, a new case causes a criminal named X to take an interest in Neuro as a demon. Nonetheless, Neuro accepts his challenges and defeats him easily. Later on, an evil organization of super humans initiate their plans to destroy the human race. Will Neuro and Yako be able to defeat the organization before it is too late?

The anime is awesome to describe it in one word. It is entertaining, and it will keep you at the edge of your seat. Although the weekly villains was a nuisance at first, the Arcs shown at each episode will keep you coming back for more. This anime is sure to add a little more flavor to your anime collection. The show will make you shake, scream, laugh and you will get creep out so much that you will just want to re-watch it! I highly recommend this detective series.


Opening Song: "DIRTY" by Nightmare


Ending Song: Kodoku no Hikari" by Kagami Seira

Review: Bloodlines (Spin-off from Vampire Academy)

I wasn't free of my past, not yet.

Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist--one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets--and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now with her allegiances in question, her future is on the line."

Bloodlines, by Richelle Mead, is the seventh novel in the Vampire Academy series. This is the first book where Rose Hathaway is not the protagonist; it focuses on the other main cast characters (in this case, Sydney ). The story picks up from the previous novel, Last Sacrifice, where Sydney is ordered out of bed in the middle of the night to face Alchemist leaders. At first, she thinks she's still being punished for her complicated alliance and friendship with dhampir, Rose Hathaway. The unexpected occurs instead. Jill Dragomir, the sister of Moroi Queen Vasilisa (Lissa) Dragomir, is in mortal danger and must be sent into hiding far from the Moroi palace compound.

To avoid a civil war, the Alchemists summon Sydney to act as Jill's guardian and sister, posing as a roommate at Amberwood Prep Academy, in Southern California. There, she discovers students wearing strange metallic tattoos similar to the Alchemists. Sydney investigates to find the culprit behind the illegal business when someone nearly loses their life. Meanwhile, the last thing Sydney wants to be accused of is sympathizing with Moroi and dhampirs. Someone is desperate enough to blame and institutionalize her in the dreadful re-education centers if she doesn't watch her back. Before she can balance her loyalties, a sign of threats, distractions and forbidden romance lurk both outside--and within--the school grounds.

First, I was very reluctant to read this novel because I didn't think this series could continue without Rose Hathaway. I read the first six books because I loved her personality and fighting spirit (i.e., she stood for justice and never gave up on her true love and freedom). But Mead amazes me again with the character of Sydney. Although she is naive in social relhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifationships and has a tendency to over-think situations, Sydney is highly intelligent in her studies and very conscious of other people's feelings. Her friendship with Adrian Ivashkov also deepens as he tries to move on with his life beyond Rose. Readers also learn another secret about Sydney's abilities as an Alchemist.

I cannot wait to read more about this fascinating group of supernatural teens. The novel covers typical teenage issues (i.e., crushes, peer pressure, self-confidence). Rose also makes a brief cameo appearance, but Sydney is the star of the novel (and she truly shines!). I am speculating that the next novel will continue to focus on Sydney and Adrian, but a new main character will certainly excite many female fans. Check out the recent interviews with Richelle Mead at Goodreads and MTV (warning: may contain spoilers).

UPDATE (11/18/2011): Richelle Mead will write a six-novel Bloodlines series that takes place in the same universe as the Vampire Academy novels. In future references, I will refer to the next five novels as part of the Bloodlines series.

Stay tuned for the next book in the Bloodlines Series, The Golden Lily.

Music Video: Things That Go Bump in the Night

A friend discovered and shared this song to me. I thought it was very fitting to share on this blog. Unfortunately, I am not sure who are the artists. If you know their name, I will be very happy to include their biographical information. I figured it's a perfect melody for Halloween. Enjoy!



[Updated January 2019]: The band who performed this song is Tommy SpaSe and the Alchemists.

Hong Kong girls taken to hospital after seeing ghosts

This sounds like a haunting. The abandoned school where the two girls fled in terror was once used by WWII-era Japanese soldiers.

Hong Kong - Two Hong Kong schoolgirls were taken to hospital after collapsing in terror claiming they had seen the ghosts of Japanese soldiers from World War II, a news report said Tuesday.

The girls were among a party of 12 exploring the site of an abandoned school in the New Territories, which is rumoured to be haunted, when they claim they saw an apparition of a marching army.

Review: The Devil You Know (Vampire Files Novelette)

The Devil You Know, by P.N. Elrod, is a special edition novelette that is the sequel to Bloodcircle, the third novel in the Vampire Files series. In post-Prohibition New York, Jack Fleming returns to Long Island to attend a funeral at the request of Jonathan Barrett, a Revolutionary-era vampire with genteel manners. What they did not expect to found was a body of an unknown decomposed man on the property estate. Barrett seeks Jack's help to solve the murder mystery without arousing police attention and public suspicion. When the two find themselves buried alive by intruders who don't like troublemakers, they travel to New York City to investigate the people involved.

Clues lead Jack back to his old stomping grounds in the newspaper world. There, the novel covers his old memories before he migrated to Chicago and became a vampire. Before the investigation hits the ground, Jonathan and Jack find themselves in a dark world of mobsters, guns, and greed. The plot thickens by switching from who is responsible for the decomposed body to who can survive the long, cold night without a bullet in the forehead. There's not much the two vampires can do but discover the prime culprit behind the mayhem.

This limited, signed edition by P.N. Elrod is a like a breath of fresh air. I enjoy the fact she tries to continue the series. I am definitely keeping it as one of my collectibles. I had to re-read my review for Bloodcircle to figure out the exact timeline of the storyline since so many years have passed. Jonathan Barrett, another vampire, makes a cameo appearance as he tries to solve the murder mystery with Jack Fleming. The plot was an enjoyable and suspenseful novelette that I recommend to all Vampire Files and Jonathan Barrett fans.

Stay tuned for the next book of Elrod's favorite short stories, Lunchtime Reading Omnibus.