is today. So…. here goes.

I walked out of my room
turned and hit him with a broom.
“Faster,” I say.
“’tis not May.”

Your turn.

I haven’t posted about charities in awhile and now seems like the perfect time. I’ve found a charity called Bring Me a Book. It is all about giving literacy to children; it’s pricey (ranging from $200 to $800), but you also have the option of donating a dollar amount of your choice.

If you’d like to help by just clicking your mouse, go to Click to Give. Sponsors give money to literacy projects because you took the time to click. Just follow the link to learn more about it.

Finally, help the children who were victims of Hurricane Katrina. Tulane University is trying to sponsor children. It wants all children K through 2nd grade to have a happy holiday in 2008. Its way of doing this is giving them books. To donate or sponsor a child visit its site Book Giving Tree.

Yep. I just bought scooperspeaks.com, I think….I hope…Well I did something. We’ll see if it works in the next week or so. Cross your fingers for me.

My dream for it is to expand my blog. I’d like to make old book reviews easy to find and this is my attempt at that. I’d like to break the books up into a million categories: shapeshifter, vampire, suspense, childrens, whatever. I guess we’ll see if I do it or become overwhelmed and expire. You know like bad milk with chunks?

Okay I’m going crazy. I’ve been playing with my keyboard trying to figure out how to an em dash and I can’t do it. On the MAC sure I can do it, no prob., but on my personal computers…nope, nada, nothing. I’m going loca…losing all my bananas…the pigeons have flown their tiny coop. Help me..

Scooper

Over the course of the week, I asked questions about what to do with books I didn’t want to keep. I received excellent suggestions: giving them to Goodwill, used bookstores, nursing homes, libraries and hospitals. The winner, in my eyes, is a foundation that Rene Lyons, author of the Templar series, suggested and started in honor of her deceased brother.

It’s the Anthony Ferrisi Foundation. Here is the information that I took from the webpage dedicated to the foundation.

The Anthony Ferrisi Foundation is a non-profit organization that accepts book donations for drug rehabilitation facilities and hospitals all over the country. Our goal is to provide the beauty and enjoyment of the written word to those who need it most.

Anyone can donate. Publishers, authors, readers….please help us rebuild lives one book at a time by donating your new or used books. All genres are needed, from biographies to romance.

Contact Ms. Lyons for further information at rene@renelyons.net.

I feel little more than disgust as I write this post. We all know that Afghanistan is far from America. I think we all know of many of the differences and similarities our cultures share. I don’t know how anyone can justify killing little girls though. I’m writing this in disgust with the Taliban who felt it necessary to drive by a girls school as it was letting out for the day and open up fire on them. Two girls were murdered in the drive buy. This is just another form of intimidation that the Taliban is using to prevent women from getting an education.

I feel so bad for the mothers who showed their bravery by allowing their daughters to brave the Taliban by going to school. I can only imagine their grief and it breaks my heart.

When I was a little girl I used to read a lot. Big surprise, right? Anyway, the only books my dad had were about the wilderness or fishing. I remember reading about how to survive bear attacks and in recent years was surprised at how many people didn’t know basic survival. You can click here and read about bear attacks or continue reading to see what you should do if you cross paths with a bear.

If you’re ever confronted by a bear DO NOT RUN, like many animals the bear runs much faster than you. If the bear charges you drop into the fetal position and cover your head. This will protect your vital organs as well.

It’s easier said than done, but DO NOT YELL OR FLAIL ABOUT. You don’t  want the bear to think that you’re a threat and if you play dead you increase the odds of surviving. Bears aren’t going to tear you apart if they think you are already dead. If you move before the bear is gone it will re-attack you until it deems the threat gone.

3 Easy Rules to Remember:

1. Keep a clean campsite. Never leave dirty dishes or food out as they’ll attract animals.
2. Never leave soap or body products laying around. Bears are attracted to sweet scents.
3. Women should never hike while menstruating. Bears have been known to violently attack women on their periods.