Airplanes and Dragonflies: 18

Saturday, July 21, 2018

Saturday 7/21, Low Entry Giveaways!

Alien Claw Cup from Toy Story Land - U.S. - The Budget Mouse *RC

Set of (5) 12-inch Resistance Loop FLEXBANDS with carry bag and instruction manual - U.S. - Limm Bands *IG

Friday, July 20, 2018

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again - Movie #Review! #MammaMia2

Get ready to sing and dance, laugh and love all over again. Ten years after Mamma Mia! The Movie grossed more than $600 million, you’re invited to return to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an all-new original musical based on the songs of ABBA. With the film’s original cast returning and new additions including Lily James, Andy Garcia and Oscar® winner Cher, the musical comedy opens on July 20, 2018.

My Review:
I really liked Mamma Mia 2. It helped to tie in the first movie to the second movie really well. Make sure you watch the first one before you see this one so that you'll remember what happened, as it's been ten years since the first one came out. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again explains how Donna got to the island, found her home, and how she met Sophie's three dads, and more. A lot of music, as it's a musical like the first one! It's also about Sophie's life coming full circle. GREAT movie! Go see it in the theater. Don't wait for it to come out on DVD. I liked this movie more than the first one.

MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN has been rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13) for some suggestive material.

Friday 7/20, Low Entry Giveaways!

Berlitz Guide to River Cruising in Europe & the USA - Book - Worldwide - More Time to Travel

Earth Band bracelet (3 Winners) - U.S. - Green Chic Life *IG

Lilla Rose Symphony Flexi *RC

Over 250 Entries:
The First True Thing - book (3 Winners) - U.S./CAN - YA Books Central *RC

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Thursday 7/19, Low Entry Giveaways!

11 x 14 canvas from Canvas On The Cheap - U.S. - Be Your Best Mom

I Can Do That activity book set (2 Winners) - U.S. - Sammy Approves *IG

Boardwalk Summer - book - U.S. - Confessions of a Book Addict *RC

Nella the Princess Knight Royal Quests DVD - U.S. - In Our Spare Time *RC

“The Rancher’s Surprise Daughter” by Jill Lynn (US: hard copy or ebook; International: ebook) - Leslie McKee *RC

Over 250 Entries:
I See Life Through Rosé Colored Glasses - book - U.S. - Diane Reviews Books *RC

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Eight Original Video Series Debut for TODAY's First-Ever Summer Season of Digital Shows!

New TODAY digital original video series include an Al Roker cooking show, a shop-able product review series and a celebrity interview show

TODAY Digital has announced its summer season of digital original video programming, available on TODAY.com, TODAY’s YouTube channel and on TODAY’s OTT apps, including Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. The shows include:

- Cold Cuts with Al Roker: Equal parts cooking show and celebrity interview with TODAY’s Al Roker. (NEW)

- Donna Off-Air: TODAY contributor Donna “Donna-dorable” Farizan sits down with celebrities after their TODAY appearance for an extended chat. (RETURNING)

- Get It Together: TODAY contributor Anna De Souza shares life hacks that are fun, easy and get you out the door faster. (NEW)

- Test Drive: TODAY editors try out buzzworthy lifestyle fads and share the truth about what’s worth it. (RETURNING)

- The Check Out: TODAY puts trending products to the test in this 100% shop-able series with TODAY producer Courtney Gisriel. (NEW)

- The Upside: Good news guaranteed to put a smile on your face and heartwarming features that restore your faith in humanity. (NEW)

- Walk in My Shoes: Beautiful, messy & real: TODAY highlights a subject’s journey of overcoming a life challenge. (RETURNING)

- Why I Love My: An empowering, body-positive video series with celebrities sharing how they find confidence and embrace surprising parts of themselves. (RETURNING)

“This new season of digital original programming underscores our promise to deliver emotions and solutions to the TODAY audience," said Ashley Parrish, executive producer for TODAY Digital and VP of strategic content. “We are now expanding that promise to entertain and inform our loyal viewers all day, every day, and to bring them TODAY beyond the four hours of the morning broadcast.”

These regularly scheduled digital series are produced by the TODAY Digital team and will run throughout the summer and early Fall.

“There is an appetite from our audience and advertising partners for more quality TODAY content beyond the traditional television screen,” said Trevor Fellows, Executive Vice President Digital Partnerships, NBCUniversal. “We are delighted to roll out this new programming which allows for TODAY to reach viewers 24/7 everywhere.”

TODAY Digital continues to outperform its competition in video starts, average time spent, total minutes spent, unique visitors and total views. In 2018, TODAY Digital sees more than 50M video starts each month (5x that of GMA Digital) and TODAY visitors spend more than 70% more time on TODAY.com compared to time spent with CBS This Morning Digital and more than twice the time spent with GMA Digital. TODAY Digital also places in the top 5 lifestyle publications for multiplatform video starts in 2018. (Source: comScore)

The TODAY team is on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube. For more TODAY and to check out the video series, visit today.com/summerseries.

Disclosure: I received this information from NBCUniversal. No compensation was exchanged or received.

Wednesday 7/18, Low Entry Giveaways!

"Faster" by Deana Birch (e-book) - All 50 U.S. States - The Book Bag *RC

Over 250 Entries:

Once Upon a Farm - hardcover book - U.S. - Heck of a Bunch *RC

"A Tangled Mercy," by Joy Jordan-Lake - book - All 50 U.S. States - Books I Think You Should Read *GL

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Tuesday 7/17, Low Entry Giveaways!

"The Craft Kingdom: DIY and Craft Projects For Kids and Adults" by Eli Maor - Book - All 50 U.S. States/Canada - Life Currents *RC

$25 TpT Gift Card - U.S. - Really Reading *FB *RC

BFree Foodie Giftbag (ARV $100+) (includes canvas tote bag filled with the BFree gluten-free line + more) - U.S. - Mommy Expert *IG

$30 worth of Pentel POP products - U.S. - Venture 1105

Hotel Transylvania & Hotel Transylvania 2 On DVD - U.S. - Stylish Cravings *RC

Monday, July 16, 2018

KINGS - Movie Review! #KingsTheMovie

Amidst the fiery chaos of the Rodney King riots, a foster mother of twelve (Academy Award winner Halle Berry) desperate to keep her family safe seeks help from her eccentric neighbor (Daniel Craig).

CAST:
Halle Berry (Monster's Ball, X- Men)
Daniel Craig (Skyfall, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
Lamar Johnson (X-Men: Dark Phoenix)
Kaalan “KR” Walker (Superfly)
Rachel Hilson (“Rise”)

Being in southern California in 1992 was scary. We lived about 30 minutes south of Los Angeles. Watching the news and the riots in L.A. made us think that the world had gone crazy. For sure, life as we knew it would be changed, forever.

My Review:
Great movie about how children learn to survive with little, to no money. Some steal. Some wash windshields for money and use that money to buy food. This woman, Millie, fosters children and she makes some money selling cakes, and I don't know what else. There's hardly any food in the house. But the kids are happy and have fun anyways. The oldest child she's taking care of, might be hers? I'm not sure. He helps out a homeless teenager with a place to live, and she turns around and invites some guys to move in there with her. The girl and teenagers climb in and out of a window so that they have a place to crash.

The tension between black and white people and also between black people themselves was really high back then. Even the Asians were afraid of people of color. This story is told while the Rodney King hearing is going on. It didn't matter what time of day you turned the TV on, it was all about the Rodney King case. Then the verdict came. Not guilty for all four of the cops involved. There was even video of what happened, and you could clearly see that they were guilty. I don't understand why there was a No Guilty verdict at all.

But then, the world went mad. People in Los Angeles got really angry with white people and with the cops. Black people, mostly older teens and young people, went outside their homes and started beating on white people and anyone else they could find. Then they started rioting and robbing stores. The cops wouldn't even go into parts of L.A. because there were just too many people to try to control them. Ambulances wouldn't even go into the areas without a police escort. Buildings were on fire, and the firetrucks wouldn't even go to put them out. People were shooting out street lights and each other. It looked like a war zone.

This is a good movie. It can help people of all color and race to see some of what happened during the Rodney King trial, and after, and what L.A. was like after the trial ended. To me, there wasn't any real story line, or a purpose to it. This movie isn't for children. I'd recommend it for people ages 16 and up.

KINGS might be a good teaching tool for teachers and parents to help explain what happened to everyone after the Rodney King verdict came down. I really had to take some time and think about this movie for a little while after I was done seeing it. It really brought back some feelings that I have buried about being afraid and my memories of feeling and thinking that the world was ending, because that's what it felt like at the time. This happened only about 30 minutes from my home, from where I grew up. We were afraid to go outside for a few days because we were white, and people were so angry. It wasn't our fault, but because most of the jury was made up of white people and they found the 4 cops not guilty... I'm glad that we have moved past this. I am glad that Los Angeles has moved past this. But Wow! What memories.

KINGS will be available to own on July 17

and on demand July 31.

Disclosure: I received a private screener of the movie "Kings" in exchange for my post. No other compensation was exchanged or received.