MEAN THIRTEEN– Evanovich

Stephanie is baaaaack…and she bring a whole new set of problems and hilarious situations with her. I love the fact that we get a little more Ranger (yummo!) in this installment, but it seems like Evanovich can really only breathe life in to one man at a time, as Joe seemed flat . It did have its moments where I was laughing out loud, and Jason made me leave the room, but I think Twelve Sharp was funnier. I am anxiously awaiting yet to be titled #14.

BLOOD ORANGE–Druscilla Campbell.

It was very well written, but it just didn’t cut it for me. I wanted something that grabbed me, that had my heart in my throat, and this wasn’t it. It just wasn’t plausible, and I had the “who dun it ” part figured out in the 2 or 3rd chapter. I really wanted the advice on the back **Savor and linger over** to mean something, but each page left me wanting just that little bit more…why did she decide to have an affair nearly the minute she got of the plane? Where is the back-story on the reasons for that? If you like a legal drama and chic lit, you should gve this a try, but don’t get your hopes too high.

Show us!

"Show us a photo that makes something ordinary look extraordinary."

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It's just ice. But the way that the light hits it, makes it look blue. This is an "iceberg" from the Glacial Lagoon in Iceland.This is also from the same glacial lagoon, but at a different light and and smaller ice chunks:

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THE GOOD GUY–

When I pick up a Dean Koontz novel, I want my heart to race, the hairs on the back of my neck to tingle…and this just didn’t do that. I found it very slow, and plodding. The characters weren’t entirely believable, I mean seriously, who the hell talks about arugula salad whilst being chased by a seemingly omnipotent mad-man? No one I know, that’s for sure. I was really looking forward to being scared for the characters, but by the middle of the book, I was rooting for the killer, as he was much more interesting with his fastidious nature and his almost laughable clean fetish.

If you want a noir drama with little to no real terror—this is the book for you. However, if you want a real Dean Koontz with scary bits, I suggest “The servants of Twilight”, it’s an oldie but a goodie.

THE BOYLEYN INHERITENCE--

Philippa Gregory has done it again! She has made the court of Henry VIII come alive with all of the behind-the-door secrecy and courtyard romances she gave us in her other novels covering the same court. In this one though, she employs three “voices” to tell the story. Anne of Cleves, Henry’s 4th wife, Kitty Howard, Anne’s handmaiden and eventual successor (the 5th wife) and Lady Jane Rochford (wife of George Boyeln and sister in law of Anne - the beheaded wife of Henry VIII). Each give thier own perspective on the years that this novel contains and it just works beautifully. If you enjoyed any of her other novels, I suggest picking this one up.

Tag!

1) Go to http://www.google.com/
2) Click on Google images
3) Type in your name and search
4) Repost the picture of the oddest, craziest, strangest, coolest, oldest, etc. person that shares your name. Post multiples if you find a few you like.
5) Pass it on to at least 5 other people.

Thanks ! (Mo ).. After going to page 1238901872 in Google (apparently, lots of Porn Stars with the name Becky), I came across this. I kinda like it, and it's done by Becky Suss.

More Art Here

I'm tagging:

Val
Bren
Devon
Chris
Peter and Michelle

Bobby

"Some men see things as they are and say why.
I dream things that never were and say why not."

Just had the chance to sit down and watch this movie, and it is quite possibly the best movie I have ever seen. It reminded me how much we need someone like Bobby Kennedy to come along and say enough is enough, we can't continue on in the same vein.

"When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies, to be met not with cooperation but with conquest; to be subjugated and mastered." -RFK, April 5, 1968 ((See and hear entire speech here)

I bawled like a baby at the end, while they played this speech and showed footage of his death and the additional shootings, even though I knew what was going to happen. It still hurt.

Books gathering dust?

"There it sits on your nightstand, that book you've meant to read for who knows how long but haven't yet cracked open. Tonight, as you feel its stare from beneath that teetering pile of magazines, know one thing -- you are not alone.One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday."(see the rest of the article from CNN here)

WTF? One in four didn't read a book at all? How is that even possible? I don't think I can go 4 hours without picking something up to read, let alone an entire year? The article goes on to state that less educated, lower income, and minorities are the least likely to read a book. I say we start promoting reading to adults in these areas, and the children will follow. If a child sees an adult reading, and enjoying it,on a consistent basis they are more likely to pick up a book and continue that habit into their adulthood, teaching their kids about the joys of reading and continuing the process down the line.

I know my kids see me reading all the time, while I am making dinner, before bed, on the weekends when we are all just hanging around the house...and you know what? All of my kids are reading, and enjoying it!

Favorite books and favorite lines...

I was just reading a post (here) and it got me thinking about my favorite books and my favorite lines within those books. You know the ones I am talking about, the ones that grip you, and keep coming to mind years down the road. Which ones do it for you and why? For me, it’s probably a mixture of these 5:

The Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
“I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny, old attics; even if they dress in rags; even if they aren’t pretty, or smart, or young. They’re still princesses. All of us. Didn’t you father ever tell you that? Didn’t he?”
-Sara

——I love this, because it reminds me that no matter what we look like, or how much money we have, we are all the same, and we are all worth something.

To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee

“.If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other? If they’re all alike, why do they go out of their way to despise each other? Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time.it’s because he wants to stay inside.“-Jem

——–I can’t help but think of this when I hear about race riots, or racially motivated crimes. To me, there is only one race; the human race. No one is better than the other.

Listen to the Mustn’ts –Where the sidewalk ends –Shel Silverstein

Listen to Mustn’ts, child, listen to the Don’ts.
Listen to the Shouldn’ts, the Impossibles, the Won’ts.
Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.

—— – It reminds us that that no matter what anyone says, you always have to keep trying, keep reaching for those impossible dreams.

Alice in Wonderland- Lewis Carroll`

Who are YOU?’ said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, `I–I hardly know, sir, just at present– at least I know who I WAS when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.’

——I bolded the part that I really enjoy as to understand it you have to have the whole thing. I love this because it really reminds me of me and how often things can happen that change they way you are. None of us go to bed the same exact person that we woke up as. Each little conversation, each action or reaction that we take has a lasting effect on us.

And the last isn’t a book, per se, but an essay. I had to write a paper on it, during my short-lived “college-days’ (soon to make a return!!) and it’s stuck with me since then:

Series I. Self-Reliance—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself and you shall have the sufferage of the world.

—–Nothing in this world matters but what you think of yourself, nothing. It never will, and never has.

Show us!

"Show us one of your photos that you’d like to print out and frame."

A double rainbow over the city of Reykjavik, Iceland

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2 comments

The things kids say--(or, they watch too much TV)

Mom, if I have a heart attack I'll have to get "Life Alert" (as seen on TV)

Lets get some, easy off, easy off, easy off, BAM!

****

It's hilarious. They know all the commercials.

Oops!

Just made me giggle....