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| Thirteen Sites I’ve Visited Lately (Random Order)
1. A Newbies Guide to Publishing 6. Dear Author 9. Book Fetish 11. Nobody asked Me… 12. Jaci Burton Links to other Thursday Thirteens! |
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Can you believe that Heroes is almost over for the season? I’m dying to know what is going to happen next week. Any guesses? Well, I have a love/hate relationship with series television. When I find a show that I really get into (like General Hospital when I was a teenager) I can’t stand time away. This is similar to how I feel when Feehan gives me a little taste of her next book then makes me wait for it. It’s not anticipation, it is irritation.
Back to Heroes, now we know that Claire’s dad has known for awhile about her miraculous ability to hear herself. We know that Sylar is a complete freak. What we don’t know is the season finaly. Do you hear my screams of agony? Do you feel my pain? How can they not know that I was not meant to wait for entertainment? Well, I guess I’ll get back to that little anatomy test I have tomorrow…Why, oh why can’t it be Gray’s Anatomy?
I’m very disappointed in myself. I’m not going to win nano this year. I have a million excuses but I just took on too much this month. I’m in countdown to graduating with my BA in English. I need to decide if I’m going for my Masters. I had a test in all five of my classes, papers in three, and my online portfolio all due this month. I have two kids who take up most of my day. I’m also beginning to search for possible jobs.
Like I said, I’m full of excuses. I didn’t accomplish half of what I wanted to but I’m going to continue with the writing project I started with Nano. Hopefully, given a little more time I’ll complete this project. I’m not upset about failing Nano; I’m just slightly disappointed that I wasn’t able to juggle a little bit better.
Usually I write about books. Today, I’m going to write about the movie Tsotsi. Tsotsi is about a young man in South Africa leading a life of crime. We later learn about his upbringing or lack of before meshing that past with the present in the hope of redemption.
Can someone who has lived life with little emotion be redeemed? This movie implies yes. It is a foreign film (so it has subtitles) but by the end of it I was crying. Basically, Tsotsi carjacks and shoots a woman but as he drives down the road he hears a sound from the back seat: an infant in a car seat.
Tsotsi cares for the baby and travels down a path that teaches him about decency and the hope that people can change. The movie also shows the great economic divisions existing in South Africa and how economic hardship often imposes its own imprint on individuals. This movie is graphic and realistic. It is hard, yet it finds a gentler side of humanity. It is definitely a movie worth viewing.
Slap me with a shovel and call me stupid. I’ve seen a hidden side to my country that disgusts/worries me. Continue reading
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| 13 Ingredients in Today’s Meal
1. Turkey (already in the oven) 2. Mushrooms (for stuffing & baking) 3. Cheddar Cheese (for mushrooms/potato salad) 4. Cream Cheese (cheese cake) 5. Red Potato (Potato Salad) 6. Sour Cream (Potato Salad) 7. Stuffing (Stovetop) 8. Sweat Potatos (Pie) 9. Pie Crust (Store bought) 10. Bread (Is it dinner without it?) 11. Green Beans (casserole) 12. Cream of Mushroom Soup (casserole) 13. Bacon (Potato salad/on the turkey) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! |
As I posted recently, I’m out of books. None of the books on my buy list are available. It’s quite a predicament. I might have to actually accomplish some work around the house and/or get that head start on cooking dinner if I don’t get a few pieces of suggested reading. I love romance. I hate Regency. So, how about it? Let me know what you think I should read. Why did you like it/hate it?
My inquiring mind wants to know.
I’m officially out of books! Yes, that’s right. As of ten o’clock last night I’m out of fresh fiction in the house. Today is definitely a Borders kind of day. The last book in my stack was Sharon Sala’s Nine Lives.
Nine Lives is about Cat Dupree’s search for justice. Cat lost her mother to a drunk driver, her father to a home invader, and her best friend to a selfish man. In order to move forward with her life she needs her father and best friend to rest in peace. This can only happen if their murderers are caught and punished. Cat is a bounty hunter by trade and runs into fellow bondsman Wilson McKay one day while on the job. Through a series of unfortunate events the two become close as Wilson helps Cat on her mission.
The initial introduction to Wilson is not the average. Wilson is introduced while in a prostitute’s home. She was a gift to him from his friends and he didn’t have the heart to tell them no thank you and went home with her. This made me question the hero. I flipped the book over to ensure that Wilson was in fact the hero (he was) and returned to the story.
The story takes many different perspectives such as: Cat, Wilson, the different detectives, the different bail jumpers, the killer, ect. Despite the jumps in perspective it flowed quite nicely. The story does not have a clean ending though. It sets up a possibly follow up to Cat and Wilson or an introduction to a nameless horror to come. I’d give this book 4.0 stars.
Jana DeLeon offered Rumble on the Bayou for us to read in October. I must admit that I almost didn’t complete it. When DeLeon introduced Agent Richard Starke she did a wonderful job painting a picture of a big city man filled with predjudice. I became irritated with his closed mind and it was only the citizens of Gaitor Bait, Louisiana that kept me reading. The first fifty pages were filled with references to red necks and backwood bimbos.
As Dick began to learn about small town life; I began to learn about Dick. He wasn’t quite the ass he made of himself early on. His nickname even undergoes a transformation from Dick to Big City. By the end of the book I was content and glad that I had forced myself past the initial urge to throw the book across the room.
The book is about Deputy Dorie Berenger and Agent Richard Starke. Dorie is called out to the local drunk’s house to remove an alligator from the woman’s swimming pool. She soon finds out that the gator is high on heroin. While inside of the gator’s mouth she finds a bag with money and heroin and between the gator’s teeth, a finger.
Soon after Dorie runs the finger print, Agent Starke arrives. He has been searching for the owner of the print for many years and is not the easiest person to work with. In order to catch a drug smuggler he must learn that small town life is a little more complicated than he gave it credit for and so is Dorie.
I’d give this book 3.5 stars.
Scooper Speaks 