Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Paranormal investigator Grant Wilson looks for supernatural evidence at an Idaho high school with a long history of urban legends and ghost sightings.


Review: My wife and I were big fans of this show when it first came on the air back in 2004. However, by the end of its original 11-season run, we had pretty much lost interest in the series, mostly because we felt as though the show had gotten away from its roots and wasn't putting as much effort into the investigations as it used to. Plus, with the two spin-off series (Ghost Hunters Academy and Ghost Hunters International) it was pretty easy to get burned out on the whole concept.

When I heard A&E was rebooting the series with just Grant Wilson at the helm, I wasn't really sure what to think and, despite some reluctance decided to give the show a second chance last night. Ultimately, my opinion of it was a bit mixed.

I'll start out by saying I was a big fan of the decision to have the first investigation at a …

Synopsis: After losing his job as a shipping clerk, an impoverished son of a tailor, Phineas Taylor Barnum, cons a bank into giving him a $10,000 loan so he can open a museum. When the museum fails to draw a crowd, he adds a live freak show act that, despite ongoing community protests, quickly makes him wealthy. However, despite his success, he is still treated as an outsider by other members of the upper class and, in an effort to be accepted, takes steps that could cause his financial downfall and ruin his marriage to the woman he has loved since childhood.

Who's in it? The movie stars Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya.


Review: My oldest daughter saw this film during a movie day at school last year and quickly described it as one of her favorites. She is even working on an ice skating program to one of the songs from this film. As a result of this, she ended up with a copy of the movie for her birthday and, based on her recommendation, we sat…

I had a coupon for this particular item and, since I am always trying (unsuccessfully) to at least cut back on the amount of soda I drink, especially at the office, decided to pick up 6 cans of it this morning. I had one after finishing my lunchtime walk and, after trying it, I'll say it was definitely interesting.

First of all, I had never even heard of sweet potato juice until reading the back of the can and finding out it is the primary ingredient in this drink. Heck, even now, I'm still trying to wrap my head around that because a sweet potato seems like such an unlikely thing to get juice from. But, I'll give the drink a thumbs-up for that regardless because it makes it pretty clear how you are getting the one-serving of vegetables the can advertises.

I'll even agree the drink is considerably healthier for me than my normal afternoon Mountain Dew. It has just 45 calories and a very small amount of sugar, none of which is added. Granted, it's a smaller can and…

As I've mentioned before, I'm always on the lookout for simple (and legit) ways to make a little extra spending money. After all, I have two daughters who participate in relatively expensive after school activities and, because of that, money is sometimes a little tight.

Recently, I started visiting a site I joined a while ago but kind of forgot about, SurveySavvy. This isn't a site you can expect to make a life-changing amount of money on. But, it is a relatively easy way to make a few extra dollars if you have some free time.

The surveys they offer range in value. Sometimes you're only getting $1. Sometimes you're getting $5. And, of course, you do have to qualify for the survey in order to complete it and get paid for it. However, I've been able to qualify for a few of them every month, making about $5-$10/month extra while sitting at home with my laptop on my lap and watching TV despite falling in one of the worst demographics as far as qualifying for surve…

Synopsis: When Constable Hamish Macbeth makes a routine visit to the remote village of Stoyre, he senses something is amiss. The pub is empty and the residents, who seem to have become unusually religious, are closed lipped whenever he attempts to talk to them. He is determined to figure out why but, at the same time, also has to avoid being promoted/forced to leave his home in Lochdubh after solving a series of unrelated crimes ranging from insurance fraud to attempted murder.


Review: Mostly because of all the time I spend at the ice rink, I can get through, on average, one book per week. However, every so often, I wind up finishing a book much quicker than that because I simply cannot put it down. This book falls into that category.

There were a couple things that really stood out for me when reading this book. The big one was definitely the main mystery surrounding Stoyre. Unlike many other books from this series, there was no obvious crime. Nobody had been murdered and, at least fr…

Synopsis: When one of Peter Brunold's custom-made glass eyes is stolen, he hires lawyer Perry Mason because he feels someone plans to use the eye to frame him for a crime he didn't commit. When a wealthy businessman, Hartley Bassett, is later murdered and is found clutching Brunold's missing eye, Mason must figure out who the real killer is. Further complicating things is a missing witness, who the police and a brash new district attorney believe Mason is hiding.


Review: After reading my first couple Perry Mason books, I found I was hooked. And, as a result of that, I did wind up checking out this book the last time I was at the library. Unfortunately, as it turns out, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

I think my biggest problem with this book isn't the story itself as much as it is the story when compared to other books from this series. Other than the part about the missing eye, there wasn't much about this story that was really any differ…