Giver Of Roses is Kathleen Morgan's first book in the Guardians of Gadiel series. As of now this is just the first book written in the series. Plans for the next two are set for 2008 and 2009 (according to the author's web site). I am looking forward to the next in the series. This book was well written and very entertaining. Morgan created likable and vivid characters that play in a sufficient but not overly complicated plot. The good guys are flawed and have their own hangups and the bad guys show a soft side that hints at a path towards redemption.

Unregister is a component that allows users on a Joomla site to unregister themselves. This current release is a minor update to allow compatibility with Joomla 1.0.13. It maintains backwards compatibility with previous Joomla versions. Thanks to Rünno Reinu for pointing out the issue and serving as a beta tester as I made the updates. More information about the change and a link to the new download are found below.

Some motivated people like to create a list of all the things they want to do before they die. Oftentimes these lists contain things like skydiving, climbing Mt. Everest, or eating 15 cherry pies in one sitting. While I applaud those who can make such a list and get those things done I just don't see that sort of thing working for me. My list would change too often as my life circumstances changed. Or, a lot of the things I want to do are completely out of my control. For example, I want to watch a tree get struck by lightning at some time in my life. How am I going to make that happen?

Stardust is a quirky, surreal fantasy adventure for a more grownup audience. The all stars sprinkled throughout (Ian McKellen, Peter O'Toole, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes and Robert De Niro) manage to keep this movie from the campy feel that this genre so often gravitates towards. The slightly macabre and adult themes set this movie outside of something I want my young kids to watch; but for adults it has some fun moments.

I've ranted many times about the unfairness shown by NBA refs when making calls. These rants are often fueled by the blatant "mistakes" that I see during games. There's obvious favoritism towards star player and there are obvious grudges between some refs and players. Over all of this, the NBA is 100% silent about review and/or recourse for bad calls in a game. The public perception is that refs can do whatever they want and we just have to trust to their integrity that they will do the right thing. Up until now that trust has been grudgingly given but the recent gambling scandal threatens to make a mockery of NBA refereeing.

Every once in a while I run across something that amazes me online. That is, something that is so sneaky at taking peoples money it's amazing. Here is the latest example: http://www.whichcelebrityami.com/. Whatever you do, DON'T complete the survey on this site. It will cost you $6/month if you do. Here's how this nefarious scheme hooks you.

One of the most anticipated summer blockbusters this year is the big-screen debut of the Transformers. Back in the 80's the Transformers enjoyed wide popularity as action figures and an associated TV cartoon series. By the 90's robots lost ground to aliens, dinosaurs, and superheros in the minds and entertainment choices of kids. But the Transformers movie is almost guaranteed to propel these 80's looking robots back into the spotlight.

The movie was great. With any "remake" of something 20 years old there is a risk of coming off as cheesy or dated. Transformers avoided that. The movie has a very modern feel. The super slick CGI animations and well crafted action sequences help a lot in creating an entertaining and visually stunning movie.

Back in the 1980's, when I was in high school, I read every bit of fantasy I could get my hands on. I went through all the standards: Tolkien, Lewis, Donaldson, Anthony, Brooks, etc. Somehow my fantasy reading flurry passed over the books by David Eddings. Recently I rectified that situation by reading the first three books in the five book series title The Belgariad.