The Cipher

So I finished The Cipher by Diana Pharaoh Francis early Sunday morning and wasn't too happy. In case you don't already know, I'm one of those people that generally picks a book up because of it's cover. Which means, I really do judge a book by it's cover. Which means I have good and bad luck in the books I choose.

Which means I didn't terribly enjoy this book, unlike Jim Hines. In fact, I'd say this was actually two books instead of one. The first book is a good read about a customs clerk, Lucy Trenton, who gets caught up in a bit of political intrigue, blackmail, oppressive mothers, and magic. Great. I loved it. The scenes and relationships between the characters were great and the plot was almost too convoluted to follow, but foggy enough to keep you hooked.

Then the two main characters get dumped overboard into the magically evil water. Um, they can create their own clothes now? And food? With magic? And they didn't die like everyone else? Yeah, that's about where I got lost. I didn't much like that part. Even towards the end when things began to get a little better and made more sense, some of the scenes seemed to have lost their appeal.

Bottom line for me, I'll keep an eye out for her other works (including the rest of this series), but I won't be paying full price for them.

On a side note, the covers are pretty freaking awesome.

Not a lot of words

But plenty of new (and old) photos.

Check out the photos from March, April, and May as well as the newer ones from June and July. And of course there's always the kid's perspective on things with Elizabeth's Newest Photos. Here are a few choice photos to entice you.

Gone but almost not forgotten

I just finished The Forgotten 500 by Gregory A. Freeman and was not terribly impressed. It was a good story about how downed Allied pilots were rescued from Yugoslavia during WWII, but there were some hiccups. The format jumped around from person to person, which was fine. But it didn't quite flow logically. Then there was all the background information, typically about said person, that was layered on so thick you forgot about the last person they talked about.

So in the end, it was a good story about a good rescue mission. And like the mission, this will likely fly under the radar of many and become a casualty of poor intelligence to be forgotten in the tomes of history.

Another one down

And another one started. Just finished Robert Jordan's Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time #8). It was decent. The biggest thing I noticed (in the story) was that everything is getting more and more messed up and (in regards to the audio itself) that the Audible production is so much easier to use. By far the easiest and cheapest way to do audio books.

And I started a new book (also via Audible), The Forgotten 500.

Beyond HBO

I just finished reading Beyond Band of Brothers by Dick Winters. If you have never seen the Band of Brothers HBO miniseries, then you have no idea what life was like in the European theater during WWII (unless of course you were there). I'm a bit of a WWII movie fan, so I have a fair number of DVDs in my collection. Most are good. But until Saving Private Ryan came out, nothing really showed you what it was like.

Band of Brothers was even better at that. It showed the gruesome side, but mostly the human side. And that's why I like it.

Beyond Band of Brothers is like reading Ambrose's Band of Brothers. But from a slightly different perspective. Big surprise, I know. But it was good. And it was a fast read. And it gave some updated news on the survivors, mostly who died since the series came out.

Supercilious Superstitions

Sit down while you read this. It'll make the fall to the floor shorter as you laugh at me.



I'm sitting here listening to the Proclaimers Sunshine on Leith album remembering a previous girlfriend. More like a summer crush, really. I was getting ready for my Senior year of high school I believe and was a lifeguard at the pool next door (literally next door). The Proclaimer's I"m Gonna Be (500 Miles) was the song of the summer and I quickly made it "our song" whether she knew it or not.

And that's where we enter the oddities of my brain train. Because my brain train then jumped to Ace of Base's I Saw the Sign song which was the song I made "our song" with the girlfriend before that. This particular young lady had been my gal pal on and off for months in middle school. She taught me to kiss. Hold hands. And generally get pissed off. She was a bit moody and nutty at times. Seemed she felt the need to break up with me every month or two.



Anyway, aside from the emotional turmoil she put me through, she wanted to try dating again in high school. We went out a few times, but it never amounted to anything. Enter Ace of Base to fill the proverbial hole in my heart.

Which brings my brain train into the final station of Crazyville. Jimmy Stewart in Harvey. You see the last time this girl dumped me was during a date. When we were watching Harvey. And I've associated that heart-break with the movie. And have yet to watch it since then. I love it. I love Jimmy Stewart. But I've got this superstition about Harvey, like it's jinxed or something.

I guess Pavlov was right. Don't ring the bell too much, my keyboard will stop working from all that drool.

PS - Jimmie's Chicken Shack is next in queue on iTunes. And I purposely left names out. God knows what would happen if they ever Googled their names and saw I was talking about them.

The Hammer is My...

...well, some of you will get it.

Book Cart Drill Team

A Book Cart what? Drill Team. That's right, another stereotype smashed*. This time librarians. Sure, they sound like little old ladies who like things nice and quiet. Apparently not. Apparently they can dance. And move. And get down.



If I had known librarians were like this, I might have gone more often. Just search on "book cart drill team" and you'll see a slew of videos. Check out the Thriller one, it's good.

*My stereotypes on teachers was smashed years ago when I walked in on my wife and another older teacher (who could have easily been my mom's age) talking about sex (after school and without kids in the room of course). And what she wore to bed. And I wanted to curl up and die form embarrassment. Who would have thought teachers had sex?!

Sunday Mobile

Unh! Grease baby!

I'm no longer a you-know-what from home virgin

That's right folks, the end of my first day of you-know-what from home is nearing. I spent an odd hour or so this morning wondering what I was going to do with my extra time. And that was after sleeping in a good 45 minutes. Wow.

Lunch was nice. I was able to enjoy some peace and quiet with Yvonne, my lunch, and my crossword puzzle. I attended my group activity via phone and actually got more done than I expected. The distractions are different but there are no more or less than normal.

And the best part? I'll be "home" in an hour. Just milliseconds after I leave you-know-what.

Yeah baby, I'm not a virgin anymore!

Get down tonight

Do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight.....

Why was that song going through my head? Because I just finished reading the first installment of Jim C. Hines' trilogy, Goblin Quest. A story about a goblin named Jig. Get it? Jig? Do a little dance?

Yeah, add some cheese to that joke.

And that's what makes this story great. The cheese. And I mean that in a good way, not a leave-it-on-the-counter-until-it's-green-and-fuzzy kind of way. Goblin Quest is one of those fantasy novels that turns things on it's head. It will make you laugh, often times out loud at the crazy antics and stereotypes in the book. Think something along the lines of Spaceballs meets Tolkien with a dash of Anton Strout. Where Joe Abercrombie makes you cringe with fear and gore, Hines makes you laugh at a goblin's ability to milk his dumb luck.

There, I think the only name I haven't dropped is that of Patrick Rothfuss. So if you need a good laugh, read Goblin Quest. The story is a little weak at the end (when the adventuring party parts company) but Jig is amazingly a solid character that has room to grow. Something I never thought I'd say about a goblin.

A boat trip and some steps

I recently took a boat ride down the river with a group from you-know-where. It was a decent trip and the weather was nice.



And of course I finally decided to take some photos of the new steps we put on the front porch.



You can go here - http://picasaweb.google.com/tk42one/June2008 - to see the full album. Or go here - http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=103773614664211492118.000450e458e2395b851f3&t=h&ll=38.281448,-77.39954&spn=0.098098,0.160332&z=13 - to see the route we took.

Where have you gone?

Nowhere, just been busy with so much stuff my head is spinning a bit. Starting with Thursday, I ran a working network cable under the house so I can you-know-what from home. Said cable didn't work after fishing it through the walls. I then went to cut Dad's grass and promptly ran over the grounding rod and scalped some of his grass. I then cut my grass (successfully) and gave up trying to do anything else.

Friday was a bad day you-know-where. I'll spare you the gory details but end the end I had a new laptop so I could you-know-what from home.

Saturday and Sunday were better. We finished out scavenger hunt, got the network cable working, got a desk to you-know-what at in the bedroom, moved the phone to the new desk, scored a Wii Fit, had a picnic at a friend's house, and the list goes on.

In between all of this we've been working on ripping audio books for our Zune/iPod. I'll need to do more work on mine to get some album art and organization set right. After that we've got the whole school thing going on. I'm halfway through my fourth class and I think I'll make it. I'm taking a break after this one for a week to recover a bit before taking one more class this year. And let's not forget our trip to Pittsburgh to see the in-laws, my Mom, and hopefully the inside of a book between school assignments.

Sunday Wii-Mobile

Waiting in line for Wii Fit.

Book News

Another report from Publisher's Weekly. We have:

How much authors make (I enjoyed the part about median income for all authors is only $100 more than the civilian work force),
Debut children's authors ("A thief is a lot like a wizard. I have quick hands. And I can make things disappear" caught my eye) and...
More E-Book ripples in the market.

Enjoy!

Queue It's a Small World

I know, I know, it's a very annoying song. But give it a listen/watch anyway while you read this (not to worry, it sounds a little more techno in this version, so it's not all bad).



Let's see, where to start. I'm a member of the Fantasy Book Spot Forums. And as a member, I've noticed a lot of great books get reviewed there. One was The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Since I couldn't resist all the hype, I bought the book. And enjoyed it very much.

So much, I created a Google Alert to tell me when the word "Kvothe" was used online. That's right, I'm that nerdy. So the other day, I got an alert that said "Kvothe" was used in a book review.

A review by Tia at Fantasy Debut, a blog that reviews debut authors. Pretty cool. Rothfuss was a debut author and I loved his book. Abercrombie too. Strout as well. And I'm sure Hines will be included soon. There's just something about fresh meat that speaks to me..... Anyway, I was reading my Google Reader this morning and noticed a new review by Tia on a book called The Stars Down Under by Sandra McDonald.

Being the curious cat that I am, I checked out her blog and read some of her older posts. Hey, wait. What's this!? A cartoon? Neat! Wait, that style looks familiar....Abbamondi?! WTF?!

Yep, that's right. Paul, aka Paulie, Abbamondi, star artist of My Life Comics, is drawing (in color no less) for The Outback Stars.

So, go crash Paulie's little party. Leave him tons of comments about his secret comic life (but be polite of course). I want to see him blush dammit!

Happy Father's Day to Me

What follows is a semi-factual report of this past Father's Weekend at the Richard household.

[Scene 1: Saturday morning]

Yvonne and I got ready for our weekend project, replacing the front steps. While it turned out she didn't do as much as she (or I) wanted, she was still very helpful. And of course Dad came over to help too. Over the past few weeks I had begun collecting the supplies needed for the replacement. Stringers. Treads. Brackets. Screws. Posts. Railings.

We started with the removal of the old steps. I did my best to remove the nails before shoving the old wood out of the way. Everything came off except the small ledger board on the fascia of the deck. After a little cleanup, we were ready for the new stringers.

We started with eight stringers. The old steps were spaced about 18" on center. Not good. So with the extra stringers, it'd be about 12" on center. Then we cut the first one wrong. So we ended up with 16" on center. You see, every stringer had to be individually cut due to some uneven concrete that comprises our sidewalk. Seeing as I had no desire to pour a level sidewalk then build steps, we just measured and cut.

Once the stringer were in place, braced by hangers of course, then we went to work on the treads. Those were easy. The composite material was a dream to work with, just very heavy and extra wobbly in longer lengths.

Rain was coming so we cleaned up for the day. But Yvonne was nice enough to go to town with the family in tow so we could have dinner* and buy the railing brackets I forgot. We dodged most of the rain, had a good dinner, got the needed parts, and headed home. With William screaming. The. Whole. Way. Home.

[Interlude]

Sleep.

[Scene 2: Sunday morning]

Saw us get up and running a bit later than normal. Yvonne made cinnamon roles for breakfast and we once again got ready to finish the steps. Dad arrived and work commenced. As we were putting the first post up, composite again, I realized I needed more brackets for the railing. Yvonne was kind enough to get some, along with lunch.

We go the first railing up by the time she got back and enjoyed a decent sub, cold drink, and the knowledge that I could look forward to playing my new Father's Day present that came back with the railing brackets. Mario Kart for the Wii.

We finished the railing, installed the second railing, and installed the last of the treads. Finishing touch was the solar powered post caps. They look so nice at night.

After cleaning up, I headed in to take a shower while Dad headed home to get ready for his trip. Elizabeth was laying down for her nap and told me she wanted to kiss him good-bye. Made me cry seeing her so sad (not to worry, he came over later to drop some stuff off).

After naps, showers, and dinner, we played the Wii (Elizabeth learned forward and reverse very quickly but loved to drive like a maniac). Played on the floor (Dad was the jungle gym as usual). Read (stories and poems). And went to bed (after I beat Yvonne at Mario Kart and she showed me her divine skill at Brain Age 2 on the DS).

[Begin Blooper Reel]

1. I can't believe I forgot to buy the railing brackets.
2. I can't believe I didn't buy enough railing brackets after realizing
3. Despite how bad it looks, I did not try to kill myself shaving yesterday. It's just the worst "nick" I've had shaving. Ever.
4. When using the Mario Kart Wii steering wheel, I promise to use it in the right direction.
5. I'll try to dance as little as possible in public while listening to my Father's Day Card.

* Dinner Saturday night was graced by three lovely ladies who apparently failed fashion school. All three were near to popping out of their tops, showing all the world their wares. Best of all was the spin on a phrase I came up with. You see, we have a family joke about "FM shoes." As in "Frell Me shoes" (as in "frell" stands for F - - - ). Well, I came up with "AM/FM clothes." As in "Anyone May Frell Me clothes." Which pretty much describes what the lady was wearing.

Ludo - Love Me Dead

I don't know why, but ever since I saw this video last night, I've had this song in my head. And I love the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCU1JYmGxcA

Mrs. Robinson

"Why, Mrs. Robinson, I think you're trying to seduce me."

I've heard the quote before, just never had the reference to frame it with. Now that I've finally finished watching The Graduate, I must say it is one of the better films out there. The story wasn't all that interesting to me, but the cinematography and audio tracks were awesome. Zooming in and out, focus points, background actors, etc. made this a great flick to watch.

So now I've watched The Graduate (#7) and The Philadelphia Story (#51). I started The Manchurian Candidate (#67) this morning and already have Network (#66) and Wuthering Heights (#73) on the DVR ready to watch.

One thing I have noticed, I really hate commercials now. Which means TCM is my preferred channel over AMC. Plus Robert Osborne is a great host.

Weekend Report

Lot's of sports news this weekend and I don't know why. For some reason I was sucked into the French Open not once, but twice. Both times I sat riveted to see Nadal beat the pulp out of his foe. Why I felt I had to watch it, I don't know. I don't even like tennis.

Second, track and field yesterday. Got to watch a few races and see Walker set a new American pole vault record. And, like tennis, I don't like pole vault. The last vault I enjoyed watching (in high school) ended with my teammate breaking his lower leg. It looked like an "L" and it went out from the knee sideways. Yeah. No thanks.

Then we have swimming. We set up our little inflatable pool in yesterday's heat. The water was ice-cold but bearable. For about 15 minutes.

In other news, William is doing his best to stand and walk on his own. Almost there, but not quite. Elizabeth has been learning jokes and making her own. Here's one:

Q: Why did the dinosaur put ketchup and another dinosaur in the potty?
A: Because he wanted to! And yes, she made that one up herself.

And finally, we have the non-sport sport of home improvement and repair. I spent part of Saturday afternoon in the sweltering heat working in the shed (thank God I had a fan). Changed the mower blades and cleaned the mower deck. Yvonne planted a new rose plant that should survive better than the old one (and be less of a hassle to maintain). Sunday was spent setting up the pool and buying more supplies for the front step repair. I'm not too excited about replacing them, but it needs to be done. And I think we have enough stuff to do it right (and nice stuff to make it look great).

Edit - Almost forgot, a tidbit of reading/writing news from Publisher's Weekly:

Liz Scheier at Ballantine won a four-way auction for Michael Thomas Ford's Jane
Bites Back, taking world English rights to three books via Mitchell Waters at
Curtis Brown. The novel presents an undead Jane Austen, frustrated by nearly 200
years of writer's block and 116 rejections of an unpublished novel she finished
just before turning into a vampire; she's becoming increasingly irritated that
the rest of the world seems to be getting rich and famous off of her works and
her life. The two follow-up books will be derived from the first. Waters said
Ford, the author of many books for young readers and adults, is likely to
publish this under a pseudonym; pub date still undecided.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6568141.html?nid=3323

The Awakened Mage meets Twilight Falling

Just finished The Awakened Mage by Karen Miller. The duo-logy started strong, but I just lost interest in it towards the end. The characters were okay to start, kind of the cookie cutter fantasy type, but decent enough to read about. At the end...ugh. Just didn't work for me very well. Intentionally or not, Miller did allude to a dependence on magic and how it kept their world nearly perfect. Well, that all went in the crapper when evil arrived.

And with the end of any book brings the beginning of another. This time it's Twilight Falling by Paul S. Kemp. I've been hearing about this guy for years and just never got to the point of reading his Cale series.

Z-O-M-B-I-E

Kids are amazing things. I'm sure you've heard the old saying about "kids say the darnedest things." Well, last night was more of a "kids, they make you laugh and cry at the same time."

Last night was not a good night for sleeping in our house. Summer thunderstorms mean Henry turns into a drooling bowl of jelly that's afraid of his own shadow. Which means we locked him in the bathroom to keep him from trying to climb his way into bed with us or from drooling on everything beneath his trembling lips. So he spent nearly all night scratching at the door trying to get out. Yeah, like he was suddenly brave enough to face the thunder.

Anyway, combine the chicken-dog with William waking up just as the storms were letting up. So now he's scratching at my back while I make a feeble attempt at sleeping.

And, finally, adding to the mix of whine and woe, we have Elizabeth. When she woke up and ran into our room, I assumed the thunder woke her up and scared her. But no, it was just a scary dream. So I walked her back to her bed and asked her about her scary dream. The following is an approximation of our conversation.

What's the matter sweetie?
I had a scary dream.
What was scary about it?
There was a man digging a cross walk with grass and trees.
What was scary, was the man scary?
Yes, he was being mean to me.
Was the grass or trees scary?
No.
Who was the man, was he someone you know?
No, he was just a scary man.

This was followed by Dad giving his speech about Mom and Dad being there to keep her safe, and William safe, and Henry safe.

So, to any scary men out there that have been mean to Elizabeth while digging a crosswalk with grass and trees, I'll be keeping an eye on you.

Flash from the past

So I've been really digging my (our) new HD DVR. Combined with the monster TV, it's so much easier to find something to watch.

In that thread of thought, I've been revisiting some old movies...well...technically I've been "visiting" them as I've not seen them before. Anywho, I dug up this old post inspired by Paul that made me go back and program some awesomeness on the DVR.

I've only been able to watch a few so far, but I was able to enjoy many, many Jimmy Stewart movies (his 100th birthday was a week or so back). He's my favorite actor by far (I dig the "common man" themes) and it was nice to see him get some props.

And, changing gears drastically, I've been keeping track of our local scavenger hunt. What thrills me to no end is that I've been getting a lot more traffic on the blog I keep with the hints, maps, etc. Yeah for Google searches!

A Toys Weekend

This weekend was full of toys.



First, I got a new another external hard drive (another Seagate). This one is a full 250GB and should fit my needs for some time. Used in conjunction with the 120GB it's replacing and the larger external (physically larger, it's only 180GB or so), I'll be able to easily backup to the small external and then archive every few months to the larger external. Don't worry, even if you don't understand it, I do.



Second, I got a new iPod (classic, 80GB). I've copied all the music Yvonne had on her external drive to mine and will start working on adding the audio books I have. Then I'll be able to listen to them in the car without lugging around the case of 24 CDs.

Finally, I got a new laptop for you-know-where. This should allow me to you-know-what at home in the near future. Which means less gas, less driving, more time at home. I'll need to be careful with how much I'm at "you-know-where" since I want to be able to actually accomplish something but don't want to distance myself completely. Time will tell how it works out.

As for the weekend, it went okay. Nothing too terribly exciting. Hope you had a good one!

New and Old photos

Finally got around to uploading some photos. Check out the wedding here and the winery trip here.

Free Book and Sony Reader

First, the free book. I have an Advanced Reader's Edition (ARE, ARC, or galley if you prefer) of The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry that I'm willing to send to anyone out there on one condition. You help me (and yourself) enter to win a free Sony Reader.

Here's what you need to do.

1. Email me (tk42one@gmail.com) you name and mailing address (your online handle would help too).
2. Read the book and write a review.
3. Post the review to two or more websites (like Amazon, Blogger, MySpace, Facebook, Borders, Live Journal, etc.).
4. Email the link to the reviews to lacereader@harpercollins.com and mention my name.
5. Complete all the steps by June 30th, 2008.

In the end, we'll both be entered to win a free Sony Reader. You're welcome to keep the book or pass it along to include others in the drawing. Of if you want your own ARE (ARC or galley) of the book, go to the Lace Reader website and sign up.

I'll admit that the book wasn't in my favorite genre and I'm not a big fan of pimping books that I love and adore to no end. In other words, this is no Abercrombie, Rothfuss, or Chabon. But I love swag. I love free stuff. And I love how they've marketed this book.

The Lace Reader Review

The Lace Reader

Brunonia Barry

Brunonia Barry has written what I can only describe as the equivalent of a lace novel. Some readers will see the patterns early on while others will only see a nice piece of art. I happen to fall into the latter category.

The book is, simply put, a chick-lit novel. The main character, Towner, has lived a hard life and returns home when her aunt dies. She has to face those she left behind, the labels others have placed on her, and new challenges. All while recovering from surgery. Salem, as in the home of the burned witches, also plays a character of sorts in the book. We see how it has become a center for tourism based on its past. It is also a gateway to other smaller, subset communities. My favorite being the social community of cray people.

The plot was confusing at times but had some solid pieces to anchor the reader. Being a guy, I think I had a harder time than a woman would in following the story and the emotions. The best comparison I can make is The Lace Reader is like The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants. Only with lace readers and witches in New England.

The marketing was outstanding for this novel. I may not know all that goes into marketing a new novel from a debut author, but the publishers have impressed me. By using social and viral advertising, and awesome prizes, they've done well in getting the word out.

My bottom line is this. I enjoyed the book. Even if it wasn't my cup of tea (or piece of lace), I still found it entertaining. I especially liked the ending when the pattern was finally revealed for the novice lace reader I am.

The Dreaded Weekend Report

Dreaded for you as a reader, not for me living it (thank God).

I took off Friday from you-know-where to get things prepped for the picnic Sunday. Got a few things done around the house and generally just cleaned. My shining moment of stupidity came when I went to install the new spark ignitor for the grill since the old one "broke." Turns out it just needed a new battery. And we did some grocery shopping as well. Costco is on my shit list as they've prohibited me from carrying a firearm in their store. I'll be sending them hate-mail later.

Saturday was a great trip to Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, VA. A college friend's sister and husband run the place and this past weekend was their grand opening. Got the "inside scoop" on much of the operation, building, etc. The weather was awesome, our friend was surprised to see us (he had no idea we were coming), and we got to see alpacas.

Sunday was our annual picnic where we had friends and family join us for food, drink, and roasted marshmallows. The weather was again great and we had fun. Everyone (kids and adults) slept well.

Monday was another great day, this one spent just running around and doing errands. Nothing terribly exciting until Target decided to get on Yvonne's shit list for charging us tax on first aid supplies when the state has a tax holiday all week for the stuff. Yeah. Sucks to be you Target.

I'm now in my fifth (of six) weeks of school. I'll roll right into my next class when this one finishes, so we'll see how it goes. I was hoping to finish The Lace Reader today during lunch, but instead spent the hour working on my other blog for the scavenger hunt. I've also gone back to the last Wheel of Time book on CD so I have something to listen to and to catch up before I try to listen to the next one that I downloaded from Audible.com.

And that's about it for now. I'm off to research iPods and Zunes.

Sunday Mobile

Fire is going. Food is coming soon. Friends are here. I love holidays.

Holiday Mobile 2

Done at the winery. Back in F'burg to shop and enjoy the weather.

Holiday Mobile

Heading to the winery to see a friend.

Chabon is a literary God

So I just finished Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policemen's Union on audio. There were some technical aspects that were different than other audio books I've listened to before. First, the CDs were labeled with each track's length as well as the length of the CD itself. And there was music at the beginning and end of each CD. Those were good things. But that damn music played over the start of the first track and it drove me nuts.

Outside of that, we have Chabon's skill. The plot was weak. Unabashedly so. In fact, there were times that the plot wasn't even there. Or if it was, I couldn't find it. But his skill with words was undeniably god-like. The only other person I've read that has skills even remotely close is Rothfuss. You can tell Rothfuss spends time crafting the right word and the right sentence. But Chabon is not only profound, he's prolific. Sentence after sentence rang home in my head like the bells of a church tower tolling the hour.

So, check it out. You'll thank me. Awesome book. I now want to check out some of his backlist.

Sunday Mobile

It's frelling raining. Again. But we haven't gone to the hospital (knock on wood) so things must be getting better. Right?

In case you're blind...

I've had enough of this week. Whatever God is out there, please fast-forward your DVR to a week or two from now when things are (hopefully) calmer. I'll spare my faithless readers the litany of despair and wish you all a happy weekend instead. I can't even say this one will be quieter than last.

Booky News

No, not like a gambling bookie, I'm talking books.

Heliotrope Issue 4 is live!

Online and viral advertising appears to be taking off for books. Which is how I got one of the few ARC (Advanced Reader's Copy - or in this case ARE as in Advanced Reader's Edition) versions of a book. It's called The Lace Reader. Stay tuned for details on how you can me (and you) enter to win a free Sony Reader (a chance to win for everyone that helps out!).


I'm a die-hard XML fan and have been pushing for anyone and everyone to hear about its benefits. Looks like some publishers are pushing for the same thing.

And finally, e-books have popped up in the news, this time in a way I'm not sure I like. The company, Dnaml, looks like they want to take e-book to the next level by junking it up with all sorts of videos, graphics, audio, etc. The jury is out on this one, but it doesn't look good.

And this is why I like boring

For those of you who know me (and us), we're probably pretty boring people. We work, we do chores, we eat and sleep. But we don't really party, or go on fancy trips, or do neat things. We're boring. Sure, we'd love to see Europe or Australia or the Grand Canyon (again), but we're boring. Here's why.

Saturday
In the morning we went to town to do our weekly food shopping and to run some errands. We checked out (to no avail) some railing systems as our front steps are in dire need of renovation. We came home, changed, cleaned up, then went to the wedding of our babysitter's daughter. Now, I don't like writing checks to pay for the sitter, but it's a great deal. Not only is it way less than what a commercial chain of daycare centers would charge, these people actually care about our kids. How many babysitters do you know that buy a dress just for your kid (with matching dress for her doll) so she can hand out bubbles at the wedding? Not many. Anyway, the wedding was nice, the rain stopped a few hours before the ceremony, and we had some snacky foods. William was getting cranky so we headed home to eat our dinner of Sheetz food.

Sunday
Sunday morning saw Yvonne sleeping in (per her request for mother's day) and plenty of laundry being done. Dishes were next on my list while Yvonne was going through Elizabeth's clothes (she's like the Imelda Marcos of kid's clothes - thank God for hand me downs). Suffice to say, the house was a mess with all the projects under way. Then William had some vanilla yogurt and some banana yogurt for lunch. Not a lot though, just some spoonfuls.

After an hour of fussing, he spewed. Everywhere. Floor. Mom. Not pretty.

Then he broke out in hives. After some phone calls, the nurse/triage people said to go to the ER since he's already taking various medications and is so young. So we zoomed to the ER, got behind the iron curtain of admissions very fast and waited. A quick checkup by the doc said he needed benadryl.

He had a bottle, and upchucked again while trying to give him the meds orally. So we moved to another room to await an IV infusion of benadryl.

And waited. Waited some more. And waited some more. After much waiting, some benadryl, more waiting, some fluids, more waiting, and yes, even more waiting, we finally got the hell out of there. Mother's Day dinner was Sheetz again (we had some right tasty looking steaks at home on the menu that have to wait now).

Monday
So, after another visit to the doctor for the post-allergy check-up, he's good to go for now. We'll be avoiding vanilla and milk until further tests come back (he eats banana all the time so it shouldn't be that). The rain is still coming down like the second coming of Moses. I'm still trying to catch up at you-know-where, school, and home. Projects galore at you-know-where, homework for class, and things to mend at home (those damn steps, the water timer under the house, and now the ditch needs fixin').

And that is why I like boring.

Today's Sunday Mobile is photo-less

Today's Sunday Mobile is photo-less as we are in the ER waiting for William to see the doctor after having an allergic reaction.

We survived

For those that didn't know, we survived last night's storm. The house just had some light winds, heavy rain, and plenty of thunder. Everything appears to be intact (haven't checked the shed yet), but in town, well, that's a different story. This particular photo is right outside my current location (you-know-where).

Annndd, Elizabeth was in today's paper in the Caboose Run race results (just her name). I'm working on the photos of the medal and of William. Give me a second.

Okay, they're uploaded. Here's the full album. And here are two of them.

Another Tarzan?

The Ancient

R. A. Salvatore

I really wanted to cry at certain points during this book. Not because the story was so gripping and moving, but because it wasn't. For the first time since ready Salvatore's Tarzan adaptation, I actually wanted to stop and listen to something else.

And to make matters worse, the ending gave some serious overtones of his previous Drizzt works. The Highwayman has fancy sword work and dresses all in black(Drizzt). The priest and his female companion (Wulfgar and Catti-brie). And the red cap powrie (Bruenor).

So, in light of this general malaise from reading (well, listening technically) The Ancient and the fact that my other reviews have been rather lackluster, this is all you get. If you want a glowing review, check out Rob's.

Great Train Race Video

Just posting the short video I took of the Train Race from Sunday.

Writerly and personal news

Audible
I've been sitting on the "audio book download" fence for some time now. I've been listening to audio books for several years now and must say, it makes my commute pass much faster than normal. And at seven to eight hours each week, that makes a world of difference. But my problem has become funding. An average audio book will run me $30 to $40. An insane amount considering that the same title in print would be half that in hardcover or even less in paperback. So I'll give the Audio Book Exchange a whirl and see what Trina and I can do (anyone else i welcome to join of course). But I'll still keep Audible as an option. Especially when I read this (bit of Star Wars news after it too):

Audible has formed a new imprint, Audible Frontiers, which will offer a range of exclusive science fiction and fantasy titles that will be available as digital downloads solely through its Web site. The imprint will feature a number of original works as well as titles from six publishers.

Mainspring
I'm seeing some static about Jay Lake's latest endeavour. Maybe it's good marketing, maybe it's a good book. Either way, flying ships always catch my eye.


School
Well, school is school. Not much to say about it right now. But I do plan on running through three classes before taking another break.

Shed
The shed has power and has passed the final inspection. That means we are done! Well, almost. We still have some insulation and drywall to install, but neither of those need an inspection because it is not a livable space. Maybe I'll be able to get some alone time to work on projects. More likely, I'll just putter.

Train Race
Elizabeth ran in a train race this weekend. It was only 400 meters or so but it's the largest race on the East Coast for kids. To put things in perspective, they limited the Caboose Run (for kids 6 and under - the one Elizabeth ran in) to 400 kids. That's right, 400. Overall, there were 2,500 kids there as racers. Add parents and fans and you get a madhouse. This photo should take you to more from the race (and of the shed).



And that's it folks.

Sunday Mobile

May the Fourth be with you.

A Study of Art

Briefly, seeing as I took all of five minutes to take the photos, what follows is a study of the art in our house.

The most prolific artist would be Yvonne's grandmother. Of all the hanging art in our house, she painted most of it. Nearly half in fact. I think this one is my favorite (it hangs in our hall bathroom):



The next artist would be my mother. Of the quilts in our house, she's made pretty much all of them. She's been featured in magazines, books, and national quilt shows. In other words, she does good work. Even as a child, she was a pretty good artist:



Various other artists grace our walls, but my favorite of all is the wood burning done by my great uncle:



You can view the rest of the art collection here.

Death of a Hero

I've been meaning to post this for some time, but have been too riddled with grief and confusion to put it down in words. After a few months of healing, I've finally gotten it out.

It was a slow death. One that's finally here and, while sad, somewhat a welcome relief. After years of a persistent illness, I regret to inform you that R. A. "Bob" Salvatore is no longer my favorite author. I weep with sadness at our departing, but know that we will both continue on in our lives and do great things.

I was introduced to Bob back in the mid 1980s. As a young boy, my aunt would take me to the bookstore in Williamsburg to buy me books or comics. On that particular day I chose a G. I. Joe comic. As I was reading it that night, again, I noticed I was continually entranced by the ad on the back cover. There was something haunting and compelling about it. Something that made me want to buy the book.

So I did. And with introductions to Drizzt, Wulfgar, Regis, Bruenor, and Catti-brie, my relationship with Bob grew. Other introductions were made over the years from Gary Leger to Elbryan and from Luthien to Nom Anor. All great people to meet, read about, and ride next to on their adventures.

But every adventure must come to an end, every McGuffin must be found. And to that end, when the story The Ancient began, I realized that our relationship had died. There was no longer a spark there. Bob's words no longer held any magic.

Over the years I've followed Bob across the country, through his life and mine. I cut my "fantasy" and "sci-fi" teeth on his books. I started following message boards back in the mid 1990s in the first incarnation of his website. I met great fans along the way and made great friends. I followed Bob to book signings. Traded emails. Even shared a drink once.

But each friendship evolves over time.

And to that end Bob, I'm sorry to say you have officially been replaced as my favorite author. Who has replaced you? Who now holds the coveted spot in my heart and in my mind? I don't know.

My favoritism is now adrift. I may have grown up reading Hardy Boy books, but I'm now looking for the new kid on the block. Man or woman, young or old, established or rookie. Nothing matters but my favoritism. There are some front runners with Patrick Rothfuss, Joe Abercrombie, Anton Strout, and others.

But who will finally arrive at the much desired spot of the trump-all author? Who will spur me on to read more of their work? Who can manage to turn my life so upside down I'm willing to spend more money just to get it spinning faster? Is it you Pat? Joe? Karen? Anton? Who can measure up in the end?

And that is where I will leave my faithful, yet small, group of readers. Salvatore is dead to me. His work doesn't measure up. I'll continue to follow his stories but only from afar. I can only hope someone will live up to the challenge.

Small update

- Just finished reading Before They Are Hanged. Great read. A "MUST" read (review link is in the Reading Log on the left).
- Working on a comic for you-know-what (yes, a comic, well, actually two of them).
- Hope to take some photos of the art in our house at some point (since somebody asked about it).
- Start school today (probably will wait until tonight).

And that's it for now.

Monday Moanday*

I lost my keys this morning. Looked around and around and couldn't find them. Then, like that magical pocket that rarely produces money, I found them in my shorts. I apparently decided to wear the same pair I wore on Saturday.

I also forgot to add that I'm like Monk in two other ways. First, the volume on the TV needs to be on a base ten number. Like "10" or "20." Maybe "15" if I'm feeling dangerous. Second, I color-code the clothes in my closet. My nice shirts are on white hangers. My dingy, bum around the house ones are on green hangers. I'm sure there are more ways that I resemble Monk, but that'll be it for now.

This weekend was rather productive. I was able to cut the grass, help Dad with the shed some, weed eat, wash the mower, wash the mini-van, wash the front and back porch, and various other minor tasks. Much more than I expected. Sunday was slower, with more indoor chores, but a lot still got done (I mean, heh, I actually mopped the kitchen floor!).

Finally, in reading news, if you enjoy fantasy, spec-fic, or whatever you want to call it, you must, absolutely must, read Joe Abercrombie's books. I can honestly say Before They Are Hanged is the best book I've read this year (and I'm not even done with it yet)! Even better than his first book, The Blade Itself. How can you beat the violence, the humor (or humour as he spells it), and the sex?! It's awesome!

* For those that noticed, no, I didn't spell it wrong.

How much like Monk are you?

A lot. And here's why. Partial list of Monk's phobia's and fear from this wiki:


Needles - I hate needles. A lot.
Death - I think we're all afraid of death.
Snakes - The only place I like them is under the mower deck.
Enclosed spaces/Caves - I need room to breath. Too much confinement and I get edgy.
Spiders - I'm no fan of them and can kill them without too much cringing. It's the big ones and the fast ones I don't like.
Public speaking - I'm much better at this than I once was, but it's still not a favorite thing of mine.
Chicken - Only if I eat it.
Frogs - Not afraid of them, just don't expect me to touch one.
Drowning - Even though I used to be a lifeguard, this is my most feared way of dying.
Food on my plate touching - This used to be a big issue when I was younger, but I've gotten much better. I even eat my food out of order now.
Sidewalk cracks - I actually avoid these when I can, but don't obsess about it.

And on a side note, if you watch me walk anywhere, you'll see me touch things as I walk around. Corners. Tags. Things that jut out. Kind of like Monk does with car antennae. And parking meters.

Audio Book Exchange

So I've thought about an audio book exchange for some time now and after looking at Audible and Borders, I've not been terribly happy with what I've found. In short, not a lot of options for audio book listeners. Audible does look like the best option for the future, download your mp3 version of the book and have a nice day. But until I get a fancy Zune like my wife, I'm stuck listening to them on CD in my car.

And since I'm sick of paying full price for a book that can cost as little as $8 in paperback, I cringe when my audio book queue starts to run dry. It means another expensive trip to the book store.

So I broached the idea of an audio book exchange. So far, only one nibble.

And to that end, I'm welcoming any and all takers. There will be an application process for those I don't know (i.e. stranger danger). But for the moment, it's open for business.

Behold the spreadsheet!

Just another update

Legends
I'm currently reading (listening to) I Am Legend and it's, well, creepy. That "Come out Neville" just gets to me every time. Creepy voice. The movie (which I watched the other night on PPV) was expectantly different than the book. And, also expectantly, not as good. I'm certainly glad I only paid $3.99 for it and that I'll be getting that back thanks to a coupon.

DirecTV
Speaking of DirecTV, we recently upgraded to an HD DVR in the living room. I had no plans to make the HD switch anytime soon until I realized we were paying for it anyway. So we'll be getting a new dish this weekend. Free. And Showtime for three months. Free. And a discounted bill for three months. Free.

Reading
And speaking of getting things for free, I'm slowly chugging through A Magic of Twilight. The war is on and nowhere near as exciting as the war in Before They Are Hanged. I like Ninefingers but I love Glotka. Best good/bad guy out there. Best good/bad guy since Keaton's Batman.

Sticks
Finally, we have the allergy test. Major allergies have been confirmed, minor ones clarified, and treatment plan in place. Fortunately no major changes.

PS - Let me know if you know of or want to participate in an audio book exchange. My wallet is running on empty and I need some new material.

Peanut Gallery

Tomorrow I get to feel like I spent the night in a sleeping bag with a dozen rabid hedgehogs. And I hope to come out of the experience wiser than before. I'm hoping the preliminary results of tomorrow's allergy tests will at least put some of my food related woes to rest. A definitive answer to what I'm allergic to and what I'm not allergic to. At least it's not like I'm allergic to peanuts but still like to eat them. They smell and look nasty. And chicken isn't far behind.

But I did happen to read a rather interesting article in the paper the other day about manufacturers and how much they are in the dark. And it reminded me of my Mom's spoon theory about how much you need to plan out your day and be careful with what you do. Maybe having the allergy for so long has made me immune to the effects of caution, but I've learned that certain foods are safe and anything new needs to be checked.

And having a daughter that shares some of the same allergies makes you take notice a bit more than normal too.

And having friends with even worse combinations of allergies makes you a bit more thankful that your life isn't as bad.

And knowing the top eight ingredients that must be labeled on all foods makes you feel like a bit of a nut.

No pun intended.

Taking the Funding Out of Fundamental

So sayeth the "leader" of the free world. Yep, Bushy Baby stops RIF (Reading is Fundamental) funding.

And the same link will provide you with news about Borders reorganization and the rise in Graphic Novel sales. If I didn't read a few graphic novels, I'd be prone to suggest that cartoons and comics are the wave of the future since they have no words. (That was a vague reference to Fahrenheit 451 where reading and books are banned and all the news is in comic format, as in if RIF dies, will we all be reading comics in the future? Never mind, I lost myself in that one.)

And best of all, e-books and the Navy make a deal. It will certainly make things roomier on board that sub, but I'm sure the sailors will still like their real books in their real hands.

The Kessell Run

How many parsecs does that thing get to the gallon?

Sunday Mobile

At the Richmond Children's Museum proving dino's rock.

Free E-Books

While not a staunch supporter of e-books, I've slowly been collecting them. And with my recent email from TOR, I was able to add another to the collection.

And my thoughts began to churn on ways to get more. You call it greed, I call it curiosity.

So, use this search to find all the PDF files on the TOR site. Most are excerpts and reading guides, but there are a few nuggets of reading to be had. Like Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fear The Darkness.

Enjoy!

Star Wars Redux

A very talented artist by the name of Sillof has done wonders with Star Wars characters. Check out his Steampunk version and WWII version. Pretty freaking cool.



Oh, and Stargate Continuum comes out in July.

Situation Mistborn

I asked. You spoke.

Three and a half votes for Mistborn, half a vote for The Situation, and half a vote for Deadstock. I know, my math doesn't add up, but that's beside the point. It looks like Mistborn is on the list to be read next. Not to worry, I've already read The Situation and posted a review via my Reading Log. I already had thoughts of reading this first since it was a short story. VanderMeer is, well, VanderMeer. Nuff said.

Thanks to all who voted. I'll keep you posted on Mistborn.

You decide who lives or dies

Well, not really, but you get the drift. Taking my queues from other review blogs, I need you to tell me what to read next. Why? Because you-know-what is slowing down and I should have some free time.

Okay, okay, let me back up a bit. I can't talk about you-know-what so don't ask. No, seriously. Don't ask. Even if you already know or have guessed, I'm not going to talk about it. But I can tell you that you-know-what is going to be slower very soon. And with that in mind, I'd like to do something during some of that free time.

Add to the mix, free e-books (aka my queue/pile o' shame). I know some of you hate them (e-books I mean), but I have a plethora of them at the moment. And I don't know where to start. So, free time + free books = you choose what I read next. No need to tell me why I should read it, just tell me what to read.

Here are your choices:

Lord of the Isles by David Drake
Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Deadstock by Thomas Jeffrey
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
The Situation by Jeff VanderMeer

Thanks for helping!

PS - Yes, I narrowed down my e-book collection based on cover art. So sue me.

Movies and Books, An Update

At Hamburger man Paul's prompting, and to get it off my chest, I will now regale you with tales of recent movies and books and how I feel about them.

Hitman
(AKA - Tattoo'd Killers)
I watched this movie on PPV and was glad I didn't spend the money on the DVD. I love Deadwood and love Timothy Olyphant in it. He did a good job portraying a hit-man, but without prior knowledge of the game, I was a bit lost on the back story. With that in mind, it was a decent action movie with enough splattering heads to make you think twice about getting close to bald guys with bar-codes on the back of the heads.

American Gangster
(AKA - Heroin Anti-Hero Hero)
Yet another tie-in with Deadwood. This time John Hawkes has a supporting role. While another violent movie, the most striking part of this movie to me was the sheer brutal and business-like attitude Denzel's character uses to go about his day job. He was a bit of a hero and a bit of a demon. He took care of his own but didn't care about the end result of his heroin empire. All in all, a good movie, just longish. Maybe a DVD to buy on sale.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
(AKA - Hedwig? Dead. Dobby? Dead. Who's next? Your choice.)
I'm nearing the end of this one and thankfully so. I have no clue how it turns out but it's progressing nicely so far. I have my theories but won't share them because, well, I don't want you commenting on it and ruining the ending for me. A few more CDs and I'll let you know.

A Magic of Twillight
(AKA - Mrs. R. D. Vandertramp Goes Mad)
I'm still plugging away at this book. It's a bit thickish (546 pages) and has not one map, not two, but four maps. Quite nice. The plot is, well, political and religious and magical, with all sorts of twists and turns. Some predictable, some not. Oddest of all to me is the author's use of perspective. The POV is clearly labeled and tells the story, but takes away from the overall story by jumping around and by being in your face so much. I mean, it's labeled twice. Do we really need that? The worst part, the language. If this were written in French and translated to English, I would be a bit more forgiving. But the ci, ca, cu, ce stuff is a bit out of hand. I know it's part of the social hierarchy, but there could have been an easier way around it. Bottom line, it's good enough that I'm still reading it. But I'm only keeping it because it was free and it's signed.

Before They Are Hanged
(AKA - Torturer Joins Comedy Club)
I'm only a little way into this book, but I have to say, I actually laughed out loud yesterday. Why? Because the much hated Tortured Torturer cut off a man's nipple. Gross I know, but I've come to love Glotka. Very much. So much, if Mr. Joe Abercrombie kills him off, well, I'll just have to tell the prat he's a horse's arse and needs to suffer for it. My dry wit will flay him worse than Glotka. Well, I'll at least try, but likely lose.

So, there you are.

Latest Book News

Borders
They've been slumping in the stock market and sales compared Barnes and Noble, but here's another blow to their bottom line.

Borders Group has finalized its new financing agreement with Pershing Square Capital Management under terms more favorable than the original deal. One change is the lowering of the interest rate, from 12.5% to 9.8%, that Borders will pay on the $42.5-million loan from Pershing. Pershing has also upped its offer to acquire Borders's international subsidiaries, from $125 million to $135 million. Pershing will acquire the operations if Borders cannot find another buyer.

Movie Tie-Ins
Expect some books in the near future to tie-in with these:

Movies
- Iron Man
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- WALL•E
- Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D
- The Dark Knight
- Untitled X-Files Sequel
- The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
- The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Part 2

TV Shows
- The Backyardigans
- Care Bears
- Dora the Explorer
- Go Diego Go!
- Max & Ruby
- Monk
- Wonder Pets
- Wow Wow Wubbzy!

Yes, I only included those that would interest me or other readers out there (I'm no big fan of Wow Wow Wubbzy!, but I do enjoy The Backyardigans (you can find the rest here).

Comic Memoirs
For all you aspiring artists that draw comics, you may find Persepolis interesting (assuming you've not heard of it yet).

Kindle vs. Sony Reader vs. E-Books
This really isn't news as much as a poll. Do you prefer any of the above? Why? I know e-books are beginning to mass again for an attack on print, but I don't see them winning. Physical books are here to stay for a long while I think. I'm just curious who prefers what and why.

And for the record, I prefer straight e-books. They're free and I don't need any special hardware to view them.

Sunday Mobile

She started on the bed and finished on the floor.

Beach Bum

Having fun in the sun.

One of those Meme things

I'm not a big fan of Memes, but I liked the 80's theme to this one.

1. How old were you in 1980? 4
2. How old were you in 1989? 13
3. Were you a Toys R Us kid? No, shopped at KayBee
4. Did you watch Transformers? No
5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen? Yes
6. Did you own a Lite Bright? No, but my grandparents did
7. When someone says ' Who you gonna call? ' You think? Ghostbusters of course.
8. What was your favorite toy? GI Joes.
9. Did you have a Pogo Ball? No
10. Did you listen to New Kids on the Block? Hell NO!
11. Which New Kid did you have a crush on? Let’s not go there…
12. Did you play M.A.S.H? Of course. My Dad looks just like Radar. My 4 year old daughter hums the theme song now.
13. Did you watch The Care Bears? Yes, but I’m not proud of it
14. Did you have Jelly bracelets? Nope
15. Did you have a charm necklace and/or bracelet? I had a necklace my girlfriend gave me with my name in gold wire (all swirly and cursive)
16. Did you own a glo-worm? No, but I wanted one
17. Did you ever own a slap bracelet? Several
18. The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles? Rambo
19. Did you have a crazy hair style? I was ahead of my time and had a flattop
20. What was your first bike? A generic BMX bike with no pegs
21. Name one thing you still own from your childhood? Readily available…the kangaroo I made of clay in third grade
22. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid? Yes (and my daughter does too)
23. Did you dress like Madonna? Thankfully no
24. Did you watch Miami Vice? Loved it. Even had a blue sport coat that I rolled up the sleeves on.
25. Did you own a pair of Jelly Shoes? No
26. Did you own a Trapper Keeper? Several, they never lasted long enough for me
27. Atari or Nintendo? Texas Instruments that hooked up to the back of the TV
28. Did you play Pac-Man? Only at the arcades
29. He-Man or She-Ra? He-Man (but I liked Orko better)
30.What movie scared you the most? I was forced to watch Nightmare on Elm Street and have never enjoyed scary movies since
31. Did you try to dance like Michael Jackson? I still try to Moon Walk when nobody’s looking
32. What Is The First Thing That Comes To Mind When You Hear ‘flux capacitor?’ I slipped on the toilet seat and saw this…
33. What other colors did Pepsi come in? I don’t know, I was a Coke drinker
34. Roger Rabbit Or Howard The Duck? Howard and his PlayDuck magazine
35. Did you ever beg your parents to have your school picture taken with the LASER background? Nope
36. Do you know what the Ninja Rap is? Vaguely
37. Favorite slang word(s)? Awesome, cool (now repeated by my daughter), and book (as in run really fast – but I don’t use that in public)
38. Can you name the family members from National Lampoons Vacation movies? Rusty, Sparky, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Katherine, and I forget the rest
39. Did you have pump sneakers? Yes, but the pumps always broke
40. Did you own HYPER COLOR shirts? One
41. Did you watch Smurfs? Absolutely. Still do.
42. What is the most annoying 80s style? Pegged pants. So hard to get them even and looking juuuust right.

Thanks to urban princess for the idea.

More Book News

Attention all personnel:

I've talked to several people before about e-books and the future war between print and virtual publishing. To that end, I found this article interesting. I knew Baen had a ton of books online, but never knew they were considered pioneers in the field. A few mentions of Star Wars here (but a less interesting article). And this article on the Alternate History genre, one of my closet addictions, fails to mention Giambastiani. What a shame. But with the press the Yiddish Policeman book is getting, maybe I should check it out.

That is all.

The Weight of the World-edited-

Sometimes life decides to shift extra weight onto your shoulders. Weight that isn't needed or wanted, but does allow you to grow as a person. A few of the life-shifting moments were the birth of my son and daughter, getting married, graduating from college, you get the idea.

Note that those are the good moments in life that truly grow you as a person. For those single, childless, high school graduates out there, you may find it harder to relate.

Anywho, the world has shifted twice in the past few months. The IRS decided to recompute my 2006 return and tell me I owed them roughly $1,700. -edited- We didn't report the stock sale correctly. Talk about a faux pas. The net result of my amended return was they owed me $8 (and they were even nice enough to add 54 cents interest).

Shifting again because Karma sucks worse than a Hoover, the IRS then wanted to examine my Schedule C from 2005. That's right, 2005. Emphasis on the five there folks. That's ancient history to me. Not to them. So I shifted some weight back to them by kindly replying with my documentation.

I somehow feel that Karma will come back at me like a Boomerang from Oz when they don't get what they want.

Dear God. This is Neil. Is tax season over yet? Can you speed this next week up a little? Thanks.

Book News

First, I finished Sacrifice by Karen Traviss (very short review is here).

Second, Publisher's Weekly reports that:

Holt editor Sarah Knight preempted North American rights to Christian Moerk's Darling Jim; Joakim Hansson of the Nordin Agency made the six-figure sale. A bestseller in the author's native Denmark (Moerk writes in English and does his own Danish translation), the novel is a gothic tale of suspense, drawing on elements from classic mythology. Narrated largely through the diaries of two murdered sisters who had become involved with a handsome stranger, the story unfolds as a local postman reading the diaries attempts to find the mysterious survivor of the fate that claimed the sisters' lives. Moerk is a former New York Times film writer. Pub date is spring 2009.

And finally, FBS reports there's a free download (in installments) of Wasp Factory available, but alas, it's only for those on the other side of the pond. Damn.

New Video

A little late, but here's some video from Elizabeth's birthday.

Birthday Photos

Check them out here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tk42one/HappyBirthday

Sunday Mobile

The Queen's menagerie.

The Epic Saga Continues-edited-

-edited-

And I'll sneak some more personal news in here, last night was, well, hard and fun at the same time. Elizabeth opened her presents (pictures will be later) and had a fun day with Grammy and Bapa Dave. But this morning is better, and I finally found out what my father-in-law's book is going to be about (and I'm not telling - so THERE!).