"Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter" Book Review

Many novels of this generation deal with trials and tribulations of family and crises. However, no other novel has been interesting as "Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter" by Seth Grahame-Smith. Placed on New York Times Bestsellers list at #4, this book is guaranteed to take readers imaginations on a horrific ride.

The book was based off of the secret diaries of Abraham Lincoln that were supposedly given to the author Grahame-Smith, by a vampire. First off, vampires are a figment of people's imaginations or the idea that one exists derives from someone's mind who is fascinated with horror and probably worships Satain. However, the story is so intriguing that it would make any reader immersing themselves in the text believe that these creatures actually exist.

The main theme of the story is that Abraham Lincoln kills vampires ever since his father told him at a young age that his grandfather and mother were killed by them. From then on, Lincoln takes it upon himself to kill as many as possible. At the age of 16, Lincoln travels along the Ohio River to investigate about a possible vampire attack. He finds out the attacks are true and almost gets killed when attempting to kill a vampire.

That's when Abraham meets a friendly vampire- Henry Sturges. Henry Sturges becomes Lincoln's partner in crime, except he's one of the creatures that Abraham should be after and destroying. That's what was a little odd. if Abraham was so head strong on getting rid of as many vampires as possible and then became friends with one that was in his midst, why wouldn't have Lincoln killed Sturges also.

During that same time the two men become friends, Lincoln witnesses a slave auction. Come to realize, the slave's aren't being sold as laborers to work on a plantation, they're being sold as food. That alone is utterly disgusting, far from realistic and no human would desire to kill another human to devour the body. That part alone when reading this book made me wonder how this book was even worthy of holding the number four spot on the New York Times Bestsellers list mainly because the idea of having that action performed is ridiculous and quite frankly, immature.

Eventually, Abraham Lincoln finds love with Ann Rutledge. However, this love ends tragically after her previous lover, John McNamar, who is also a vampire living amongst the innocent in New York City, murders her. This angers Lincoln so much that he hunts down McNamar and kills him. Howeverm Abraham rebounds quickly and goes off to marry Mary Todd and begins a family with her.

The author included Abraham Lincoln meeting Edgar Allan Poe, who in the book is mentioned as Lincoln's "old friend". I thought it was interesting that Grahame-Smith would include that because Poe is known for his mysterious poems especially, "The Raven". Perhaps Grahame-Smith's goal was to get the same vibe across to readers who tend to prefer this genre. Either way, it did remind me of the works of Edgar Allan Poe because this book reminded me of mystery and suspense. I was not surprised once I read that the poet was mentioned in the story because it seemed somewhat obvious and predictable.

Some books nowadays are complex in many ways challenging the reader's minds. However, this was not one of them. This story seemed easy to become immersed in. Just the mere mention of the word "diary" people gravitate towards it because people are generally nosy.

Although people knew that this book was not really based off of true diary entries from the 16th president, why would people bother to read it? Maybe because people envision a well known president like Abraham Lincoln whose reputation is not bad, to carry a bloody axe in his hand in search of blood sucking demons.

Overall, this story was a page turner. However, the concept of the story was dumb and seemed like anyone off the street could develop a synopsis such as this and make as much money as Grahame-Smith probably did from it since it's in production right now of becoming a film. So I did not enjoy this genre of books but apparently a lot of people did.

One thing is for sure though, people do enjoy suspense, drama, and horror. And anything non-realistic that is well written will sell. It's no surprise that Grahame-Smith would deliver an enticing book that fans could really indulge in.

The Wharf Tavern: Restaurant Review

"The Wharf fails to make a Splash"

The Wharf Tavern, located in Warren, Rhode Island is minutes away from the high class town of Barrington. Although this restaurant has a gorgeous location on the bay including dock side access for boaters, the entrees lack taste and quality.

The restaurant has a calm and warm ambiance with its frothy caramel and grayish blue wall colors. Surrounding the restaurant are large portrait windows overlooking the water. The Wharf Tavern provides dim lighting from wall sconces. Also, the piano and live band that provides the music for the guests makes it feel like you're at a millionaire's restaurant.

Although The Wharf Tavern was at its full capacity the night I dined, the waitress I had was very attentive. She wasted no time asking for drink orders and gave the table a plate of crackers with a cream cheese spread along with a basket of bread which was lightly seasoned with cracked pepper and an assortment of cheeses melted on top. She continuously refilled out water glasses and asked how everything was.

The menu had some variety to it, but nothing that stood out. Seafood, chicken, and pasta were the choices. The label "market price"- which was listed on approximately 50% of the menu items implied the food was quite expensive.

The chicken parmigiana-fresh boneless breast of chicken lightly breaded, fried and served with marinara sauce and melted cheese is what I chose to order. The meal also came with a salad which had spinach leaves and other greens that looked like it belonged on a tree branch rather than on my dinner plate. The dark purple spinach leaf was lightly coated with French dressing that left a toxic taste in my mouth.

The chicken parmigiana presentation was disappointing. The marinara sauce that coated the chicken looked as if it had been sitting on the shelf for an hour waiting to be picked up by the server. Although the waitress claimed the plate to be "very hot," the food was lukewarm.

Cutting into the chicken was effortless. The interior of the chicken was juicy and tender but completely lacked the "fried" description that was provided on the menu. The exterior of the chicken was soggy and tasted like it had just come out of a microwave from a "Hungry Man" TV dinner container. The bed of pasta that the chicken was lying on tasted like it had just gone through the strainer and had no flavor whatsoever.

Other meals that I tasted were: calamari, chicken cordon bleu, and chicken marsala. The calamari was nicely fried and sat on a bed of linguini with a mixture of banana peppers, red peppers, and black olives. The chicken cordon bleu was over cooked and the chicken was very dry and the outside layer that is supposed to be crispy was soggy. The chicken marsala was a large chicken breast soaked in wine sauce and cream that also came with linguini. From all of those choices, the calamari was the best.

Overall, the atmosphere was elegant and charming and the service was decent. However, the food was mediocre at best. The Wharf Tavern is located on 215 Water Street in Warren, Rhode Island.

Movie Review: Ghost of Girlfriend's Past

In a spoof off of Charles Dicken's classic, "A Christmas Carol," director Mark waters does a good job reenacting the parts of the play taking a single, selfish bachelor through his life and seeing how he belittled women.

Connor Meade (played by Matthew McConaughey) a famous photographer and well known "player" gets an invite to his younger brother's wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. There, he runs into one of the bridesmaids and long lost one night stand Jenny(played by Jennifer Garner). Connor thinks he is still on his "A-Game" until Jenny turns him down hard leaving him quite confused since no one resists Connor Meade.

That first night staying in the old Newport mansion, Connor gets paid a visit by his dead uncle (played by Michael Douglas). He gets taken from different scenes of his life every since he started dating. He was shown the numerous girls that he hurt in the past, present, and future.

Along the way, Connor realizes that he still has feelings for Jenny and is determined to make things right with her considering he did carry a picture of her in his wallet from when she was very little. That part was a tad creepy. However, Jenny can't seem to get over the man that Connor has now grown to be and it will take more than one night for him to gain back her respect.

Ultimately, the two fall back in love which was easily seen coming a mile away. The movie was not exciting to say the least. However, it did teach males a valuable lesson - that's if they were paying close attention. In a portion of the movie after Jenny and Connor sleep together, all Jenny wants to do is be held afterward.

To all the males, that is something so crucial to know about females. I thought that having the director include that portion in the movie was very interesting. However, that makes me wonder- is he gay? that leaves much to my imagination. Just that one scene gave men a flashing red sign of what some women really want from a relationship and that is to be held and nothing more.

The role of Connor could have been played by someone else other than McConaughey. I could have seen Matt Dillon in this role instead. The character seemed unlike any role that McConaughey is usually seen playing. It was more of the complete opposite of his role in "The Wedding Planner." The "bad boy" act doesn't work for Matthew McConaughey with his whole southern accent and charm.

The acting by both Jennifer Garner and Matthew McConaughey really were not their best which is probably why it was not a smash hit at the box offices. Although Jennifer Garner was placed in her typical "good girl next door" roles that she usually gets hired for, this character suited her well and so did the overall movie. However, Matthew McConaughey would be suited much better in another film like "Fool's Gold" where he can be care free, adventurous, and shirtless.

Overall, I thought the movie was mediocre. I probably wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone unless they wanted to watch a "how to guide" on what to do and what not to do to women considering that there were some helpful tips on how to treat a female with respect. Other than that, I watched it once and didn't get much fulfillment. But it's an okay movie to see if there's nothing else better to watch.

"The Odd Couple" Theatre Review

"The Odd Couple" by Neil Simon was a successful Broadway play in 1965 and continues to bring in much revenue many years later. This play is the perfect example of two completely opposite bachelors who have recently been left by their wives. The macho, newly divorced New Yorker man, Oscar Madison(played by Fred Sullivan, Jr.) meshes well with sensitive, newly single Felix Ungar (played by Brian McEleney).

The play starts off with a group of guys sitting at a poker table in Oscar's apartment contemplating where their friend Felix is who never happens to miss a game. The stage has clothes thrown all over the floor and left over plates with food stuck to them. The poker players are typical beer drinking, smoking men who you would find at a bar.

Felix makes his entrance to the stage beside himself giving the guys the impression that he can't be left alone. Oscar feels guilty and very alone not having his ex wife and kids there, so he invites Felix to stay with him for a bit until Felix becomes mentally stable.

Once Felix moves in, Oscar's home is turned upside down. Since Oscar lives in a chaotic mess with disorganization everywhere in site, Felix can't help but not want to clean. Felix and Oscar's friendship turns into an old married couple's relationship. Felix acts as the complaining wife and Oscar as the careless, loveless husband who is just staying in the marriage because there's nowhere else to turn to at this point in age.

Brian McEleney does an outstanding job portraying this uptight character and makes the play much more comedic. Although his character is overly sensitive and annoying, you can't help but feel bad for him.

Fred Sullivan Jr. does great playing the role of Oscar. The character reminded me of "Archie Bunker" minus having Edith as his wife from "All in the Family" which made the play all more enjoyable for me.

Oscar eventually gets fed up with not going out on the town that he arranges a date for Felix and himself with two sisters, Gwendolyn Pigeon (played by Phyllis Kay) and Cecily Pigeon (played by Nance Williamson)from another room in the apartment building. These women act obnoxious and stupid with loud laughter and seem to cry about every issue. They become intrigued by Felix's vulnerable side and begin to favor him over Oscar.

The disastrous date starts and ends quickly when Felix starts reminiscing about Frances. The combination of serious/sensitive emotions mixed with dry humor is great! The acting by Brian McEleney combines great with the acting of Fred Sullivan Jr. whose sarcasm never seems to fail throughout the play.

The play as a whole did a great job keeping the audience laughing and made each person in the theater feel like they were in Oscar's living room with the gang. Although I was hoping to see Felix reconcile with his wife, the play ended on an odd note with Felix simply leaving Oscar's apartment and the rest of the guys playing poker as they did at the beginning of the play.

"The Odd Couple" is a play that I would certainly recommend to anyone. It's just as good as going to see a comedy at the cinema, maybe even better because it's done live. The play was a great experience and changed my outlook that I had before hand of going to see a play at a theater.

"Daughtry" CD Review

"Hard Rocker Wins Hearts"

Chris Daughtry, a former "American Idol" fifth season contestant who did not get crowned the season five winner, has had quite the journey all the way to the top of the Billboard Charts. He began his rise after gaining national exposure on one of America's most watched prime-time television programs. It's "No Surprise" that his name has become a familiar one in many households throughout the world.

Chris, a recently married man and father of two from North Carolina, ended up in fourth place on American Idol. After elimination, Chris received a recording contract with RCA Record Company. The record company let Chris form his own band. Chris used his last name, and the band "Daughtry" was formed.

"Daughtry's self-titled debut album came out in 2006. it sold over one million copies after being released for five weeks making it the fastest selling debut rock album in history. A few weeks after it came out, the album ranked number one on the Billboard Charts.

Daughtry's lead singer, has a raspy and very distinct voice that's so unique, no one could replicate it even if they tried. Daughtry's very first single, "It's Not Over" hit the radio waves in 2007 and was one of the top 10 songs played throughout that year. Soon after, Daughtry put out their second single "Home" which also became one of the top 10 songs of 2007.

"It's Not Over," is a ballad about a person in a relationship who is begging for forgiveness. It is about how a relationship fell apart, but one of the parties of the relationship is still striving to make it work. Overall, this song is moderately heavy with percussion instruments such as drums, cymbals, and an electric guitar that play alongside of Chris's emotional sounding and straining voice. Listener's can distinctly hear the heartbreak which is portrayed in this song.

"Home," Daughtry's second single released off of their debut album became the closing anthem song for season six of American Idol. This song is about lonesomeness while working away from home. It's about missing the love and support from family and friends when you are away for a long duration of time and the only place you can seek comfort is when you arrive home. "I'm going home to the place where I belong where your love has always been enough for me" "Well these places and these faces are getting old, so I'm going home" leader Chris Daughtry sings. The song is one that anyone could relate to; and with the song beginning with gentle strumming of an electric guitar and a wood block counting the beats, it puts a listener into a vulnerable mood.

"Over You," the third single to hit radio waves is about a person who was in a bad relationship and is now recovering from heart break. Chris sings, "I never saw it coming and should have started running a long, long time ago and I never thought I'd doubt you I'm better off without you, more than you, more than you know" "...The day I thought I'd never get through, I got over you". The chords in the song are sung with great emotion and power; as if he is yelling at the top of his lungs to the other person that caused him pain. The beginning of the song starts out with an acoustic and electric guitar playing simultaneously and then the drums begin on the second verse which pulls the rest of the song fully together making it a very catchy tune that listeners want to hear over and over again.

There was also a few more hit singles from their debut album such as, "Crashed," "Feels Like Tonight" and "What About Now" and these helped established "Daughtry" as a household name. After the success of their first album, Daughtry released their second CD "Leave This Town". The majority of the second disc's songs were co-written by Chris Daughtry.

Chris Daughtry is the third American Idol contestant, along with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood that became very successful. This Creed-like sounding band has catchy chord progressions and versus which led to them becoming the well known band that they are today. They won an American Music Award in 2007 and they were Grammy nominated in 2008.

Daughtry's second album, "Leave This Town" was released in summer 2009, and already it has much radio play from their hit songs "No Surprise" and "Life After You." The band is sure to have a bright future ahead of them as they continue to produce more hits and give the audiences the edgy alternative rock sound that many listeners love.

"Community" Television Review

While community collegeis often stereotyped for playinghost to underachievers, the cast of NBC's "Community" made the honor roll in drama class because the show provides a solid half-hour of hearty laughter.

The front man of the show, "Jeff Winger" (played by Joel McHale) is required to go to school to obtain his law degree after having been caught receiving a fradulent one. During his second week at Greendale, Jeff begins to take a liking into "Britta Perry" (played by Gillian Jacobs, the twenty-something year old woman who is enrolled at community college after having numerous jobs. In order to get closer to Britta, Jeff forms a fake Spanish study group after explaining to Britta that he is a certified Spanish tutor.

Not knowing a lick of Spanish, Jeff enlists help fron psychology professor and acquaintance, Ian Duncan (played by John Oliver) in attempts to obtain the Spanish exams. Jeff thinks the study group will be the perfect opportunity to be alone with his dream girl Britta, but unfortunately their classmates from the Spanish class get word of the study group and decide to stop by. This unintentionally ruins Jeff's plan to be alone with her.

The diversified group of characters may remind some viewers of "The Breakfast Club" because of the stereotypical scenes that "Community" acts out on set. The show has many random jokes, lines, and the acting is hilarious. The chemistry that all of the actors have with one another is also remarkable. Though it seems like the majority of the show takes place in the study group room, it's almost as if they're at an "Alcohol Anonymous" meeting expressing their feelings and getting to learn more about each other than they would'be ever learned in their academic classes.

Alongside "McHale" and "Jacobs", is a sassy middle-aged woman, "Shirley" (played by Yvette Nicole Brown) whose character adds a fiery punch to the cast with her "I ain't takin' nothin' from no one" attitude and is also love interest to another character. In addiiton, "Abed", the Middle Eastern student (played by Danny Pudi) is one of those characters where the show just wouldn't be the same without Abed's stream of consciousness thoughts that he shares with the other characters.

"Annie", (played by Allison Brie) the over achiever or "Little Annie Adderall" as "Troy", the football jock/prom king (played by Donald Glover) calls her. However, the show wouldn't be a hit without "Chuck" (played by Chevy Chase)- a retiree and founder of award winning moist towelettes who tries hard to fit in with the young generation that surrounds him at the college. And also the Spanish professor, "Senor Chang" (played by Ken Jeong) who is also known for his comedic acting in "Knocked Up," and "The Hangover."

The show can easily take you away from a stressful daily routine and bring you back to your college years. This new prime-time show that was directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and created by Dan Harmon, will keep you smiling and laughing until the very last minute of the episode. "Community" airs Thursday nights at 8p.m. on NBC- Try to not be tardy!

"Dear John" Movie Review

“Pass the Kleenex and my refund of $10”

If you've ever been in that hopeless romantic love stage with someone, "Dear John" will be easy to relate to. The film is based off of one of best-selling author Nicholas Spark's famous novels, and directed by Lasse Hallstrom and screenplay written by Jamie Linden.

The movie overall was an exhausting love story for anyone who viewed it. The main characters in the movie, John Tyree, who is a soldier in the Special Armed Forces, (played by Channing Tatum) and Savannah Curtis, the "good girl" humanities college student, (played by Amanda Seyfried) are new but somewhat familiar faces to the silver screen having Channing Tatum been in "Step Up" and Amanda Seyfried had been in Mean Girls."

Director, Lasse Hallstrom, is a Swedish film director. He has directed an array of films such as, What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "Chocolat," "Casanova," "The Hoax," and now, "Dear John."

Hallstrom's film captures the perfect timeless romance that people yearn to watch. However, the sappy love scenes are enough for viewers to think, "Haven't I seen this before?" With "Dear John," the movie falls short of Nicholas Spark's other famous novel turned into movie "The Notebook." It seems like this time around, the attempt of making another one of Spark's novels, (which generated a lot at the box office,) left viewers with a thought of disappointment and a lighter wallet.

In regards to the entire movie, it was rather odd. The movie starts out strong where there is a bit of competition of Savannah's affection between three other guys including John. In the middle of the movie, the main focus is on John and Savannah's developing relationship, but also on the relationship that John has with his autistic father. Taking a step back and thinking of all the points of the movie, it doesn't make the film sound too bad. However, once you are to watch it on the screen and see it all unfold, it seems like there is too much going on at once. There are other relationships that are playing out on the side. For example, Tim and his son Allan, John and Mr. Tyree, Savannah and Tim, and Savannah and Randy. It would have been better to just focus on John and Savannah's relationship. Towards the completion of the film, it was almost as if the writer had run out of an idea for the story line and left viewers confused as to how it ended.

This movie touched upon topics that were fairly sensitive such as autism, going off to war, betrayal, and death. Out of that laundry list of emotional situations that would pull at any one's heart strings, any of the scenes played out that were previously mentioned was bound to make anyone cry.

In regards to the emotional impact of this movie, get ready for an emotional roller-coaster. The well thought out constructed lines that are spoken between the main characters are pure genius. For example, in a scene where the two characters are sitting on a park bench in what looks to be a small and intimate grassy field overlooking the ocean, John says to Savannah, "All I know is I want to stay here with you for as long as I possibly can and I need you to tell me what to do...what do I do?" followed by the two characters holding each other in a teary embrace as the strings section of an orchestra begins to play into the scene. The music used throughout the film enhances every moment of that "warm and fuzzy" feeling that one would get when wrapping themselves in a fleece blanket and sipping hot chocolate near a fire place.

If someone were to ask, I would not recommend this movie. I'd suggest to that person to go and watch or re-watch "The Notebook" because they'd get the same effect without having to spend ten dollars for a movie ticket. Overall, there was too much hype, too much publicity, and too high of expectations that were placed, but not completely fulfilled.