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.