The Good, the Bad, and a Non-Inspired Movie Review

I got to see Star Trek last night. My date, for whom I have yet to think of a pseudonym, asked me if I was going to blog a review, and I informed him that my writing waits for inspiration. It's been a while since I blogged, however, so, the sum total of my review of Star Trek is this: What is it with JJ Abrams and giant, suspended-in-mid-air balls of red liquid? The date and the movie were both great. So what's bad? The fact that my washing machine hose keeps popping off the machine, spewing water all over my basement floor! I just can't get the darned thing to stay in place. (Addendum: my date informs me that his pseudonym is Raoul)

Engineering An Empire

Nate and I have been enjoying the Engineering an Empire series by the History Channel (through Netflix since we are TV-free). What an amazingly cool show! This is history for boys! It actually covers ancient empires from a civil/military engineering persepective. So far we have watched the segments on Carthage, China, Russia, Greece and Greece in the age of Alexander, and the Aztecs. We have been astounded at the feats these peoples accomplished, and it has spurred a unit on Carthage, which my own education sadly lacked. Why do they skip such a wonderful piece of history?

Engineering an Empire is not directed at kids, but we have found that at 12 Nate understands nearly everything being said (and besides, there is a pause button for when he doesn't) and is fascinated by how things worked and how advanced some people were. It does cover a lot of military history, so there is some talk of bloodshed, and in the Aztecs section there are re-creations of human sacrifice (you don't actually see anyone being killed, but you do see hands holding hearts). There's a teensy bit of historic facts about prostitution and such, but nothing shown, and it's really not dwelled upon.

We are halfway through and Nate is begging for more, so if you have kids who need a little something to catch their interest in history, this might be a good choice for you. I would also recommend the corrosponding segments of the Drive Thru History set by Focus on the Family, for a more Biblical perspective (not available for all segments, though).

Enjoy!

The Blue Planet

We queued The Blue Planet series from Netflix and are just finishing up the disc entitled Seas of Life: Open Ocean/The Deep. So far we are really enjoying this series. It does contain some evolutionary language, but is for the most part simply stunning cinematography, wonderful explanation and a collection of really wild underwater creatures. The page I linked to has info and activities on the left. I have not used them since I just saw them for the first time, lol. In any case, I can certainly recommend this series for families interested in learning more about the life in the world's oceans!