Let Me Know

Okay, so I’m thinking about posting some of this story that I’ve been working on, but I’m not sure if it’s a good idea since it’s still kind of rough. But I figure this way I can get feedback and possible motivation to keep moving on it. Let me know if this is something you’d be interested in, or if you’d rather I didn’t since I would totally understand if you didn’t.

Awesome Libraries

One day, my library will look like this

…mixed with this

…and of course, I have to have one of these

Also good

My question is: how did they color coordinate the books like that?

New Addition

My newest neice has just been born, so I’m going to take this opportunity to foist pictures of her on you, whether you want them or not 🙂

And these two are possibly my favorites, but only if you look at them in order

This look, if I’m any judge is “What are you doing and how can I make you stop?”

And I believe this one to be “I’m done with you”

The Horror…

So last night I was browsing the web and ran across this website with a bunch of short stories on it, which I thought would be awesome, since it’s a website especially designed to help amateur writers find their voice. So I picked one at random and read it…. I wish I could say that it was a good story and that I recommend it, but honestly, it was one of those that, while interesting and well written, left you horrified and backing away slowly. It was absolutely and utterly horrifying. There is no other word for it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it today, which I suppose means it served it’s purpose, but I certainly hope that the author didn’t intend the reaction of “What? Why would you write that? What’s wrong with you?” It just.. and I… there are no words. Read it if you like, I’ll post the link, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

It’s called “One Flesh” by Robert Devereaux http://theharrow.com/journal/index.php?journal=journal&page=article&op=view&path[]=2891&path[]=905

“The Peach Keeper” by Sarah Addison Allen

I cannot express enough how much I love this author. Her books are magic, just pure magic. The writing, the characters, the stories, the themes… all of it is just magic. She has three others before this one, but I just finished this book, so I thought I would review it first.

This book, like her others, takes place in a small town in the South and centers on the social structure, spoken and unspoken, of that town, but it especially focuses on the secrets that lie in wait, the connections between people, and the small magics that are handed down, generation to generation. Pennies on the windowsill gets rid of ghosts, peppermint on the windowsill keeps unwanted visitors away, lavender raises spirits, birds try to protect you and cake can call someone home. The little things your grandmother told you and you never bothered to forget, that you never really believed and yet, nonetheless, indulge in when you’re scared or upset.

It’s amazing to me how real she can make her stories, while maintaining that one foot in the world of fairy tales. This one takes place in a small town with more secrets than most, thanks to a con man who visited the town seventy five years before, and concerns the granddaughters of two of the founders of the town’s Women’s Society Club, neither of whom is happy or where they should be in life. I won’t spoil it for you, since you absolutely, without question, should buy this book, love it, and take care of it forever, but in the end, secrets are told, friendships are forged and spirits are put to rest. Oh, and one of the characters from her first book makes a cameo appearance, which made me very happy.

There’s something about her books, and I can’t explain what it is exactly, but they linger with you, long after you read them, and you find yourself believing in the little magics, the things you’re far too sensible to believe in normally, but persist in your hindbrain nevertheless. If you’ve read one of my earlier posts, where I list the authors that I love enough that I will read any sentence that they should choose to write, then you already know how much I love this author. And even though there’s a certain repitition to her books, since she’s clearly a woman who’s writing what she knows, namely life in a small Southern town, I can’t recommend them enough.

Suggestions?

I have a question for you guys and anyone who has an opinion is welcome to give me suggestions. Okay, so I recently decided to give being a bartender a try since my previous career plan went over about as well as one of those elephant ballerinas in Fantasia, except imagine that in real life. Anyway, so I went to school and learned all the stuff, blah blah blah, and I have since been looking for a job as a bartender. The school I went to gives you job leads and one of them was for this swanky restaurant downtown. I decided to give that one a try, among others. This one particularly though, seemed promising, since the restaurant manager/owner looked at my resume and told me that they couldn’t interview me that week, since it was right before Mother’s Day, but they would get back to me the next week to set something up. I said okay, cool. I wait until Tuesday, then, deciding to be proactive, I called them to set something up. They tell me to come in Thursday and to ask for Zack or Rabii. Awesome. I wait til, Thursday at 1:30, like they said and I go in. They tell me that Rabii has been called away on an emergency, come back at five. I get pissed, cuz I got all dressed up and fancy for nothing, but whatever. I leave, wait til five, then go back. Pay to park for the second time that day, and go in, ask for Rabii. They tell me they will let him know and he will interview me when he gets the chance. I wait twenty five or so minutes, smiling at eveyone and getting progressively angrier at being ignored until the same guy comes up and tells me that Rabii is stuck in traffic. Could I come back the next day? And maybe call ahead to check that Rabii is there first? Now here’s my question: should I even go back? Cuz that was last week and I’m starting to think I was premature in walking away, but that was bull crap. Suggestions?

“Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter” by Seth Grahame- Smith

This is a really good book. I mean, I went into it expecting to like it, since it’s part of the recent trend of retconning classic literature or history to include things like vampire, werewolves or demons, which I think is hilarious and awesome, so I was pretty positive that I would like it before I ever read it. But I found myself impressed by, first of all, how well the author researched this book. This is clearly a man who has read a biography or two of Abraham Lincoln. I honestly expected to find a bibliography at the back of the book. And secondly, I was very impressed by how well he wove the whole “vampire hunter” thing into Lincoln’s life and American history. Now, I don’t know a whole lot about Lincoln’s pre- president life, I know what I learned in history class basically since I’ve never been terribly interested in the Civil War, but what he wrote seemed pretty accurate to what I knew and what I sort of vaguely remembered hearing about. And the part about how vampires were the true villains behind the south and slavery? Awesome! And it actually kind of made total sense, in a really weird way. Of course vampires would see that as a perfect way to feed. Why wouldn’t they? Who would go after them for it? Okay, who in the south would go after them for it?

I can’t say as I was totally impressed by the “vampire hunter” part of it, since we never actually see Abe doing that much vampire hunting in the book. It’s mentioned that he does it, and that he is a great hunter, but the author mostly focuses on actual biographical information about Lincoln’s life, slightly to the detriment of his street cred. The reader just kind of has to take his word for it that Abe is as big of a badass as he says he is. Hopefully that will be fixed in the movie, which I am very much looking forward to.

Also, I felt like there were a few too many description of dreams in the book. It happens like four or five times in a 336 page book. That’s a bit much. And at least two of those times he pulled the same thing, where it treats the dream like it’s really happening until all of a sudden Abe is jerking upright in bed and gasping. That’s kind of an old, tired trick to pull in the first place, and to pull it more than once is kind of sad. That said, the bit of foreshadowing of Lincoln’s death was nice, and nicely Shakespearian, though honestly who needed it? Does anyone not know that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated? Anyone? But maybe he was trying to play like we didn’t know what would happen to Lincoln, like he was introducing us to a brand new character, or a little known person from history or something. An odd card to play, but whatever.

All in all though, an awesome book and one that I’m very glad that I read. It sat in my To- Read stack for over a year before I ever got around to it, and now I feel bad for that. So, for anyone who’s been intending to read it, but just hasn’t yet- go ahead and dig it out. You will not regret it and will walk away with a serious new respect for Abraham Lincoln. Not that I was lacking in it before, he’s always been one of my favorite presidents, but learning all this new stuff about him, even filtering out the vampire stuff, has made that respect blossom into possible hero worship. And to then make him a vampire hunter, well… he’s a total badass. And an awesome president. I especially love his quip to cowardly general Mclellan “If you do not want to use the army, I would very much like to borrow it.”

To Watch Or Not To Watch

I’m torn on whether or not to see “Snow White and the Huntsman.” I mean, it looks really good, but it has Kristen Stewart in it, and I’m pretty staunchly anti- Kristen Stewart. Chick cannot act. Like, at all. She doesn’t emote, you can’t see her think, she has no screen prescence, nothing. She’s pretty, and she played Bella. That’s it. And there’s a reason she was picked to play that grey, washed out character. I don’t like her. However, “Snow White and the Huntsman” looks really, really good and it has Chris Hemsworth (Thor) in it. That counts for a lot. That man is unbelievably hot. So, there’s that.

I do think I’ll end up seeing it though, and I’ll show you why (I hope I’m doing this right): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROtBbOcdFxo&feature=branded

And if that didn’t post right, just look up Florence and the Machine, Breath of Life. Beautiful song and apparently it’s a song in the movie, so they end up showing scenes from it in there… I think I’m gonna end up seeing that movie. But I can’t condemn an entire movie based purely on one actress right? No matter how bad she is? Hell, maybe she’ll surprise me and actually do well. You never know. I’ve been greatly surprised before.

Oh and here’s a funny story, though no one else seems to appreciate it as much as I feel like they should, cuz it’s hilarious. Maybe I haven’t been telling it right. Okay, so when I went to seen “Hunger Games”, I saw it on opening day and I ended up sitting shoulder to shoulder with some random chick who was somewhere around sixteen or so, if I’m any judge. Anyway, the previews were going and one for “Snow White and the Huntsman” came on and, like I said, it looks good. And I said so out loud, because well, I think out loud sometimes. And I believe my exact words were “Well, I’m generally anti- Kristen Stewart but that does look good.” This was at the end of the preview, btw. And, then, immediately afterward, comes a preview for the (thankfully) last “Twilight” movie, and the chick next to me, no shit, let’s out this full on fangirl shriek like you would not believe. Really loud, really close to my ear, immediately after I basically just bashed her apparent heroine. Awesome.

Cage the Elephant- Ain’t No Rest For the Wicked

My theme song 🙂 Well, some days, anyway… don’t really know what’s up with the actual “video” part of the music video though

Shonda Rhimes Must Be Stopped

I just want to start by saying that I do not watch “Grey’s Anatomy”, nor have I for years, but I am vaguely aware of what goes on with it. I have a friend who watches it and there’s a tv blog that I read that discusses it regularly and well… sometimes I’m bored and curious. I want that firmly understood before I say this, because if I, someone who hasn’t watched the show for years and is only vaguely aware of it’s drama, not every little bit, not everything that happens, just sort of aware of it, then surely it’s worse than I know. And surely it must be even more true than I realize when I say: Shonda Rhimes must be stopped. She’s the showrunner for “Grey’s Anatomy” and the things that she has done to Meredith Grey… honestly, if it were real life, I would intervene. It’s abusive. It is full on character abuse. Every time I hear anything about the show, it’s something about Meredith’s life going to crap- again. What does this woman have against her own character? I honestly think that kind of behavior is a form of self hate. Just check out this quote from CliqueClack, that blog I mentioned:

“Since the very beginning of Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith’s luck has been absolutely lousy. Let’s review:

She hooked up with a man she didn’t know was married and watched as he went back to his wife, despite her humiliating pleas for him to pick her. She removed a live bomb from the body of a patient, then stood witness as it blew up the cute bomb squad guy. Her mother, who’d been emotionally abusive to Meredith her entire life, had Alzheimer’s and died as Meredith was being resuscitated after a suicide attempt. Her estranged alcoholic father, who was happy with the new family he’d made after leaving Meredith and her mother, blamed Meredith after his second wife died in a freakish manner while Meredith was her doctor. Her dog got sick and had to be put down. A close friend was hit by a truck and died, while another had stage four cancer, went into remission, then left. The guy for whom she’d long pined “married” her on a Post-It, but then was shot in the chest and nearly died as Meredith, who offered herself up as a sacrifice to the gunman who was killing everybody, miscarried her baby. Meredith then couldn’t get pregnant but when she eventually adopted a baby, her husband left her as punishment for her screwing up a clinical trial. Meredith’s baby was taken away by social services, then returned, and her husband came back, too, only to have the season end with Meredith and her husband involved in a plane crash where Meredith’s sister Lexie was killed. Oh, and it’s possible that Meredith could have Alzheimer’s. Shonda Rhimes probably will give Meredith Alzheimer’s.” (http://cliqueclack.com/tv/2012/05/18/greys-anatomy-season-8-finale-review/)

And that wasn’t even the complete list. I’ll say it again. Shonda Rhimes must be stopped. I realize that Meredith Grey isn’t real, so it will make things difficult, but surely if we all band together, we can work out a way to stage an intervention? A kidnapping? Something, anything, to save this poor girl from her tormentor.