Reviews

The Printed Word:
Moon Tides, Soul Passages

reviewed by Mamawitch on 9/6/2006

Moon Tides, Soul Passages by Maria Kay Simms, Starcraft Publishing, 2006 ISBN 0-9762422-1-4

I hadn't given much thought to Lunar Astrology, other than noting the position of the Moon in my Natal chart, and seeing how that related to transits of the other planets. This book does not cover any of that. Moon Tides, Soul Passages teaches you about Lunar Astrology - the cycles of your life based on the phases and signs of the progressed moon throughout your life. Read more...

Children's Book:
The Fairy Ball

reviewed by Mamawitch on 10/25/2006

The Fairy Ball by Stephen J. Brooks, with illustrations by Denise Seah, Purple Sky Publishing, 2006 ISBN0-9769017-4-9

The Fariy Ball is a brightly-illustrated poem about a young girl who goes out into the woods on midsummer's eve (Litha) and dances with the fairies during their annual ball. The poem is very nice and will engage young children with it's cadence and rhymes. The illustrations are nicely colored, and done in a child-like style that is appealing to young children. It is certainly an entertaining story for bedtime reading, especially as midsummer approaches. Read more...

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

PG rating, released 2001, DVD release 2002. The DVD is reviewed.

reviewed 10/15/2002

2001 saw a couple of excellent film adaptations of popular novels, and the holiday season this year will have their sequels. Of course I am speaking of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which is the subject of this review, and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which I'll review later (probably in conjunction with the Two Towers, since that film will be released by then).

Let me preface by saying that both my daughter and I have enjoyed all four of Rowling's novels, and are waiting for the next installment in the life of young Harry Potter. I've read the books to myself and aloud to my child, and she's reading them on her own now, too. While the novels have some familiar plot twists and an adult can figure out where much of the mystery is going, because we've read other novels with similar themes in our lifetimes, our children haven't yet, and to them, it's all new and wondrous. Read more...

Playing With Pyramids

We recently attended a Science Fiction convention, and spent a lot of time in the game room, learning and playing a bunch of games. Two of our favorites, Ice Castles and Martian Chess, are played with these nifty little plastic pyramids produced by Looney Labs, our favorite game makers. They are made originally for a game called "Ice House," but the game pieces have been inspiring game designers for a while now, and there are at least 12 different games you can play with these pointy things. Read more...