1408 is a new movie that is coming out this summer. The 1408 movie is based on a Stephen King story about one hotel room that usually stays vacant because of the supernatural activity associated with it. After watching the trailer, I am reminded of my own encounter with what I believe to be the supernatural.

My story, however, isn’t at all terrifying but comforting. My father-in-law had passed away about a year before we became pregnant. When Rae was around six months old, I bought her a talking puppy. I had placed it on her shelf one night after laying her down. Later that night we heard the puppy talk. It said “I love you.” Now that is one of the phrases he does say but I had never heard him say it before. There wasn’t anything that could have triggered the toy, so I choose to believe that it was my father-in-law giving his granddaughter a message of love.

John Cusack stars in the 1408 movie as a father in search of a way to reconnect with his daughter who has passed on. Samuel L. Jackson also stars in this movie as a hotel employee who tries to dissaude Cusack from staying in the room 1408. He tells him that no one has made it longer than an hour, that is if they made it out alive. Cusack doesn’t change his mind and retires to the room where the plot really kicks into high gear.

1408 looks to be a great psychological thriller. I’m sure this will make in on the list of movies we’ll watch this summer.

I’ve never been much of a sports video gamer. Each year the sports games are updated to reflect players who have changed teams, new players, and to take advantage of the latest in gaming technology. I’d much rather buy St Louis Cardinals tickets than buy a baseball game to play the St. Louis Cardinals. There are many gamers who do love their sports games.

The good thing about sports games is that they drop in price. Games that are just a few years old you can find for a fraction of the price for same titles released that year. I’ve thought about picking up something like Madden NFL 2001 since it is just a few dollars at the game store just to give it a try. Besides playing baseball on the Wii, the last sports game I played was SNK Baseball for the NES. Maybe there is a pattern here. I’ll just stick with sport games that are meant for Nintendo consoles, and I should find it enjoyable.

I haven’t yet purchased Nanny Mania and haven’t played anymore of the demo either. What I have played I have enjoyed, though. You are hired as a nanny to take care of the newly elected Mayor’s luxury home and be a nanny for his newborn. To complete tasks, you click on it for the nanny to do. Some tasks are multi-step processes but still require you to click each step.

I’ve heard some people have been disappointed with the full version in that it’s not challenging. I would expect that there will be more tasks that must be done and some mini-games to complete during the game. I’m not sure that exists now. I guess I will play through the demo and come to my own conclusion about the game.

Now I have a RealArcade credit, so I’m on the hunt for two games.

It’s probably not news to anyone that you can watch DVDs, through your PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Last night our DVD started acting weird. Hopefully a cleaning will make it right as rain but if not then we’ll have to replace it. Luckily we have a few options to watch DVDs without a DVD player.

We have enjoyed several movies on the PS2. To watch on the PS2, all you need is to load the DVD and reset the game system. Use the PS2 controller to navigate the DVD menu and start the movie. Sound always seems low, so we have to crank up the volume. Sometimes we forget to crank it down but then once we get a loud jolt of sound from the TV, we quickly remember. There is a PS2 DVD remote that is available if you prefer to navigate with a standard remote instead of using the controller.

To watch DVDs through your Xbox you have to buy the DVD remote control. It’s an added expense but can be worth it especially when the DVD goes on the fritz. Now that the Xbox 360 is available, these remotes have really dropped in price.

There is always the option of watching DVDs through the computer, but usually that leads to the baby being very interested in pressing buttons on the keyboard.

Hopefully a good cleaning will fix our DVD. If it doesn’t, at least we have other options for watching DVDs without a DVD player.