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Art for Sale Dec. 31st, 2009 @ 05:09 pm

create & buy custom products at Zazzle
Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: For Free (Joni Mitchell)
Tags: ,

Inspired by NCIS Nov. 24th, 2009 @ 09:52 pm

Not sure I like this pallet though. I might try different colors.

Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Night And Day (John Barrowman)
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TV Meme Nov. 18th, 2009 @ 02:16 pm

Bold those you've seen 3 or more episodes. Put an asterix (*) next to the ones that are or were your favorites.

24
7th Heaven
ALF
Alias
American Gothic
America’s Next Top Model
Angel
Arrested Development
Babylon 5
Batman: The Animated Series *
Battlestar Galactica (the old one) *
Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
Baywatch
Beverly Hills 90210
Bewitched *
Bonanza
Bones
Bosom Buddies
Boston Legal
Boy Meets World
Brothers And Sisters
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Californication
Chappelle’s Show
Charlie’s Angels
Charmed
Cheers
Chicago Hope
Chuck
Clarissa Explains it All
Columbo *
Commander in Chief
Crossing Jordan
CSI
CSI: Miami
CSI: NY
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dark Angel
Dark Skies
DaVinci’s Inquest
Dawson’s Creek
Dead Like Me
Deadwood
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Designing Women
Desperate Housewives
Dexter
Dharma & Greg
Different Strokes
Doctor Who (original series)
Doctor Who 2005
Dragnet
Due South *
ER
Even Stevens
Everwood
Everybody Loves Raymond
Facts of Life
Family Guy
Fantasy Island
Farscape
Fawlty Towers
Felicity
Firefly*
Frasier
Freaks and Geeks
Friends
Fringe
Futurama *
Get Smart
Gilligan’s Island
Gilmore Girls
Glee
Gossip Girl
Grey’s Anatomy
Grange Hill
Growing Pains
Gunsmoke
Happy Days
Hercules: the Legendary Journeys
Heroes
Home Improvement
Homicide: Life on the Street
House
I Dream of Jeannie
I Love Lucy
Invader Zim
Invasion
Hell’s Kitchen
JAG
Jackass
Joey
Kim Possible
Knight Rider
Knight Rider: 2008
Kung Fu
Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
La Femme Nikita
LA Law
Laverne and Shirley
Law and Order: SVU
Leverage
Life on Mars (UK)
Life on Mars (US)
Little House on the Prairie
Lizzie McGuire
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Lost
Lost in Space
MASH *
MacGyver
Malcolm in the Middle
Magnum PI *
Married… With Children
Maude
McLeods Daughters
Melrose Place
Miami Vice
Mission: Impossible
Mod Squad
Monk
Mork & Mindy
Murphy Brown
Mystery Science Theater 3000*
My Life As A Dog
My So Called Life
My Three Sons
My Two Dads
Mythbusters
NCIS*
NCIS Los Angeles
Ned Bigby’s Declassified School Survival Guide
Nip/Tuck
Northern Exposure *
Numb3rs
One Tree Hill
Oz
Perry Mason
Power Rangers
Press Gang
Prison Break
Private Practice
Privileged
Profiler
Project Runway
Psych
Pushing Daisies*
Quantum Leap
Queer As Folk (US)
Queer as Folk (UK)
ReGenesis
Remington Steele *
Rescue Me
Road Rules
ROME
Roseanne
Roswell
Sanctuary
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?
Scrubs
Seaquest DSV
Seinfeld
Sex and the City
Simon & Simon *
Six Feet Under
Slings and Arrows
Smallville
So Weird
South of Nowhere
South Park
Spongebob Squarepants
Star Trek
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Enterprise
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1*
Starsky & Hutch
Superman (series from the 50s)
Superman (animated series)
Supernatural
Surface
Survivor
Taxi
Teen Titans
That 70’s Show
That’s So Raven
The 4400
The Addams Family
The Amazing Race
The Andy Griffith Show
The A-Team
The Avengers
The Beverly Hillbillies
The Brady Bunch
The Cosby Show
The Daily Show
The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
The Dead Zone
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Flintstones
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Golden Girls
The Honeymooners
The Jeffersons
The Jetsons
The L Word
The Love Boat
The Magnificent Seven
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Monkees
The Munsters
The Office (US)
The Office (UK)
The Powerpuff Girls
The Pretender
The Real World
The Shield
The Simpsons
The Six Million Dollar Man
The Sopranos
The Streets of San Francisco
The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
The Twilight Zone
The Waltons
The West Wing
The Wonder Years
The X-Files
Third Watch
Three’s Company
Twin Peaks
Twitch City
Torchwood
True Blood
Unfabulous
Ugly Betty
Veronica Mars
Weeds
Whose Line is it Anyway? (US)*
Whose Line is it Anyway? (UK)*
Will and Grace
Wings
Xena: Warrior Princess

Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Music: The Alchemist (Scaramoose)
Tags:

Name this intersection Nov. 18th, 2009 @ 10:02 am



The image is from Google Maps of the street up the hill from me.

In two different books I'm currently reading I've seen this type of intersection called something I've NEVER heard it called in real life. I think this other name for it is confined to a small region of my country. Please answer my poll to either prove me right or wrong.

I will do a follow up post to explain after I get some answers.

Poll #1487216 Name this type of intersection
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 28

This type of intersection is called

View Answers

Rotary
2 (7.1%)

Roundabout
16 (57.1%)

Other (tell me in a comment)
10 (35.7%)

I am located: (optional... just curious how regional this is)

Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Shadow Boxer (Fiona Apple)
Tags: ,

A stupid meme Nov. 17th, 2009 @ 07:20 pm
TAG 1 : Innocent… or Guilty?

RULE 1- You can only say Guilty or Innocent.
RULE 2- You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3- Copy and paste this into your notes, delete my answers, type in your answers and tag to your friends to answer this.

* Asked someone to marry you? Innocent
* Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Guilty
* Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent
* Ever told a lie? Innocent
* Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Innocent
* Kissed a picture? Innocent
* Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent
* Fallen asleep at work/school? Innocent
* Held a snake? Guilty
* Been suspended from school? Innocent
* Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent
* Stolen from a store? Innocent
* Been fired from a job? Innocent
* Done something you regret? Innocent
* Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Guilty
* Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Guilty
* Kissed in the rain? Guilty
* Sat on a roof top? Innocent
* Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Innocent
* Sang in the shower? Innocent
* Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent
* Shaved your head? Innocent
* Had a boxing membership? Innocent
* Made a girlfriend cry? Innocent
* Been in a band? Innocent
* Shot a gun? Innocent
* Donated Blood? Guilty
* Eaten alligator meat? Guilty
* Eaten cheesecake? Guilty
* Still love someone you shouldn’t? Innocent
* Have/had a tattoo? Innocent
* Liked someone, but will never tell who? Innocent
* Been too honest? Guilty
* Ruined a surprise? Innocent
* Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterward? Innocent
* Erased someone in your friends list? Guilty
* Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Guilty
* Joined a pageant? Innocent
* Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty
* Had communication with your ex? Innocent
* Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent
* Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Innocent

Guilty for just 12/42….

TAG 2: HOW DUMB ARE YOU?
The more [x]’ s the “dumber” you are.

* [] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were talking
* [] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were NOT talking
* [] You have ran into a glass/screen door
* [] You have jumped out of a moving vehicle
* [x] You have thought of something funny while walking by yourself
* [] Laughed, then watched people give you weird looks
* [] You have run into a tree/bush.
* [] You know that it IS possible to lick your elbow
* [] You have tried to lick your elbow… a few times
* [] You never knew that the Alphabet and Twinkle Twinkle Little star have the same rhythm.
* [] You just tried to sing them.

So far: 1

* [x] You have tripped on your shoelace and fallen.
* [x] You have choked on your own spit.
* [] You have seen the Matrix and still don’t get it.
* [] You’ve never seen the Matrix.
* [] You type only with two fingers.
* [] You have accidentally caught something on fire.
* [] You tried to drink out of a straw, but it went into your nose/eyes.
* [x] You have caught yourself drooling.
* [] You have fallen asleep in class and fell outta your chair.

So far: 4

* [] Sometimes you just stop thinking (most of the time I won't think about anything).
* [] You are telling a story and forget what you were talking about.
* [] People often shake their heads and walk away from you.
* [] You are often told to use your “inside voice”.
* [] You use your fingers to do simple math.
* [] You have eaten a bug.
* [] You are taking this test when you should be doing something more important.
* [x] You have put your clothes on backwards or inside out, and didn’t realize it.
* [] You’ve looked all over for something and realized it was in your hand.
* [x] You have run around naked in your house.

So far: 6

* [] You repost bulletins because you are scared that what they say will happen to you if you didn’t.
* [] You break a lot of things.
* [] Your friends know not to use big words around you.
* [] You tilt your head when you're confused.
* [] You have fallen out of your chair before.
* [] When you're lying in bed, you try to find pictures in the texture of the ceiling or wall.
* [] The word “ummmmm” is used many times a day.

Total:6

Yup... I'm boring and smart.
Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: How to Dream (Sam Phillips)
Tags:

The verdict on Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 02:05 pm
As it turns out I had a 30% off coupon for a new book. So I decided to see if I could find a nicer edition — one with a larger typeface that wouldn't kill my eyes like the library book was. I found a lovely copy that meets all my requirements. So now I can finish the book at a slower pace at a chapter a night or even more slowly at 30 pages a week (like I'm doing with Proust's books).
Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Beat Happening – Fourteen
Tags: ,

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 10:42 am
Poll #1484943 Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 10

I've been struggling with the book. I'm about 1/3 done. Is it worth finishing?

View Answers

Yes
7 (70.0%)

No
3 (30.0%)

Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: curious
Current Music: Java Jive (Ink Spots)
Tags: ,

Struggling with Nanowrimo Nov. 6th, 2009 @ 10:09 pm
This year I'm on track to finish my Nanowrimo (as I have in all the years I've participated) but this year I'm struggling. I'm surprised. When I first thought of the idea I was jazzed by it. But shortly after I came up with it, I was laid off. The last time I was laid off I didn't do Nanowrimo because I felt I should be using every free moment to look for work.

This time I'm thinking of the exciting of writing dashed with the realization that we would be once again struggling to make ends meet right when we thought we were done with that.

Anyway, I'm on Chapter 7. I'm keeping the basic plot structure of the book that inspired my nanowrimo and the original chapter titles. That means I'm on "The Fortress." Everything else though is all me.
Current Location: An uncharted island near New Gibraltar, Albion
Current Mood: blah
Current Music: Infected Mushroom – Frog machine
Tags:

Haunted mini golf Oct. 30th, 2009 @ 10:01 pm
Today Sean had a half day. The mini golf course in Castro Valley has been decorated for Halloween. It's so cute! I knew Sean would have a really fun time seeing the decorations and playing a round of golf.

After school I gave him a chance to change out of his costume. Then we hopped back into the car and went golfing!

As an extra bonus (beyond the great decorations) all children ages 11 and younger who played a round could pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch they'd set up behind the 19th hole (decked out with a pirate skeleton).
Current Location: 2533 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA
Current Mood: chipper
Current Music: Silver Darlings (The Browne Sisters And George Cavanaugh)
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A Foggy Sunday Oct. 11th, 2009 @ 06:14 pm
Sean's been fighting a cold all week. He hasn't been so sick that he can't go to school (no fever) but he has enjoyed lazing around the house this weekend.

We are spending our time playing video games, doing homework and reading books. Sean bought Spore Hero with the money he's been saving up. It is a very addicting game. We've all taken turns at it, but Sean has played it the most. We are also playing Wii Sports Resort, a game I am totally addicted to.

This morning I've woken up with his cold. So Ian is making us a huge pot of chicken soup. Meanwhile the kids and I are making chocolate chip cupcakes.

We are expecting our first big rain of the season tomorrow afternoon or evening. Tuesday it is supposed to pour.

I finished an excellent middle grade book today: So B. It by Sarah Weeks. I will write a proper review of it on my main blog but I just wanted to share now in my post book bliss.
Current Location: Hayward, CA 94541
Current Mood: coldy
Current Music: Various Artists – Debussy - Arabesque No. 1 in E Major
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Other entries
» Spore Hero
Sean has been wanting to play Spore since it first came out on the PC. We haven't had a machine powerful enough to play it. Sean has a friend whose mother works for EA. So he was introduced to the game early on at his friend's house. Ever since then he's been saving up his money either for a system upgrade for one of our computers, or a new computer or some other solution.

Thankfully EA has made a Wii version, Spore Hero. It came out on Tuesday and today I took Sean out to buy it with his hard earned money. We have all had fun playing it tonight. Of course it's all the sweeter knowing how much work Sean put into getting it.
Oct. 9th, 2009 @ 10:49 pm
» Busy Bee report
Ian and I had our parent / teacher conference at Harriet's school. We were scheduled to take half an hour but we only needed about ten minutes.

The teacher says she's a delight to teach... just like Sean was when he was in her class. Harriet is doing great with her work and will begin learning to read in December!

Harriet loves to play, loves to sing, loves to dance, loves to do her work, loves to draw and loves to talk.
Oct. 8th, 2009 @ 08:23 pm
» A missing night-night and morning coffee
Ian picked up Harriet last night so I could stay home and cook dinner. Since he's been working in Davis, he hasn't been dropping off the kids as regularly as he used to. The traffic lights conspired against him giving him all red lights from western Hayward all the way into eastern Castro Valley. So he arrived just at closing time and was therefore flustered. His only thought was to get Harriet and sign her out so the school could close up.

What he didn't realize is that Harriet had taken her beloved night-night (a purple terry cloth blanket) to school for nap time. It was in her green bag on the hook in her class room. The problem though, Harriet and the other remaining kids were outside playing. If you don't stop to get the blanket first, it is easy to forget it.

That's exactly what happened. They got home well past closing and I realized her night-night hadn't made it home. Poor Harriet was a wreck. She'd have moments of happiness but when it came to bed time she was once again very sad. She didn't sleep well at all last night. With the colder nights she missed being able to wrap herself (sort of a self swaddling) in her night-night. So she was cold and lonely.

This morning when she had finally drifted off (with the heater coming on and warming things up) she didn't want to get up for school. I got her up and she cried and climbed back into bed. Ian finally got her up by offering to make her a cup of coffee. That got her out of bed!

So we brewed a pot of coffee. Harriet had a small cup that was mostly chocolate milk with maybe a 1/4 cup of coffee mixed in. She drank it with her breakfast (peanut butter toast).
Oct. 7th, 2009 @ 12:07 pm
» News from Castro Valley
The talk at Coffee Cup Cafe this morning was about a house fire two blocks over from the shop. It had started at six in the morning just as the owner was getting the store ready to open. She said she could see the flames rise above the tree line.

I knew something had happened because on the way to dropping Harriet at school a pair of HUGE ("heavy rescue") fire trucks passed us coming down the hill.

A regular at the coffee shop happens to live next door to the house fire. A large cement wall separates the apartments from the house and was the only thing keeping the fire from spreading while the fire trucks arrived. Fortunately everything stayed contained to just the one house.

No one knew as of this morning if anyone was in the house at the time of the fire.



Then this afternoon I learned that one of the other Busy Bees died suddenly. She was only 4 years old. I asked if it was an illness or an accident. It was apparently an accident but I don't know what.
Oct. 2nd, 2009 @ 04:20 pm
» Cold Coffee
When I was pregnant with Harriet I didn't lose my taste for coffee. Nor did I give up drinking it. I'm not a multi-cup a day drinker so I just kept drinking the coffee when the mood struck me.

Over this just ended summer I discovered Harriet's love of coffee. Specifically she likes frappachinos . She begged me once for a taste of my "cold coffee" and I obliged figuring she'd take one sip, hate it and move on like Sean had done at a similar age. Nope. Before I knew it, half my drink was gone!

Since the caffeine and sugar doesn't seem to alter her personality any, I sometimes indulge her. For the last week or so she's been begging me to take her to Coffee Cup (a local coffee house near her school) for a "Cold Coffee" date with me. I promised her we'd do it today.

When I told her at school that today was the day for our "cold coffee date" she jumped and screamed "AWESOME!" We stopped in at Coffee Cup Cafe. I ordered a frappachinos for us to share. We snuggled up together on one of the black comfy chairs and shared the drink.
Sep. 30th, 2009 @ 11:37 pm
» Coraline
Just after publishing my review of Coraline by Neil Gaiman, my son has discovered the book. He's reading it with Ian and is completely, utterly, 100% sucked in.
Sep. 24th, 2009 @ 05:04 pm
» No more babies
Now that Harriet is done with diapers we are trying to get rid of our stash of baby things. Today we threw out the diaper pail. We've had that thing for 8 years. It is so nice to have it gone! We still need to get rid of her changing table but right now we don't have anywhere else to put her clothes.

Besides the baby things we also just went through old junk. Bags and bags of it. The best of it we will Freecycle. The worst we will toss.

When we're not cleaning house we are playing Wii Sports Resort. We broke down and bought an extra controller so we can go head to head now. The dog fighting is a hoot.
Sep. 19th, 2009 @ 04:59 pm
» Treasure
Harriet and to a lesser degree, Sean, have discovered my old jewelry collection. From about age 12 until college I wore earrings. I collected a couple dozen pairs in the that time. Most of it was costume jewelry... frogs, nautical themed stuff, flamingos and so forth. I don't know why I've held on to it.

Apparently I kept it for my kids to look at. Harriet will sit for up to an hour going through each and every piece. She has also declared that she wants to get her ears pierced. I have told her to wait. I might let her do it as a teen. I will certainly let her do it by the time she's an adult. I'm not letting her do it as a 3 year old!

The other bit of treasure is my grandmother's old collection of costume jewelry. Among the pieces are a few bracelets of mine and two pieces I know where my great grandmother's. One of great grandmother's pieces is a choker that I'm sure is close to 100 years old by the style and condition of the beads. I think the clasp was updated about 30-40 years ago but everything else is much older. It's the genuine treasure among the lot. The rest though mostly have sentimental value.
Sep. 18th, 2009 @ 07:51 pm
» Barred Owl Eating a Mourning Dove

Sep. 7th, 2009 @ 02:29 pm
» Busy Bees

Last week the kids went back to school. Sean's now in second grade. His teacher is a little tougher but he's really happy with the challenge. He's in a mixed first and second grade class. That's how his school has compromised with the need to increase class sizes (due to budget constraints) while keeping the numbers as small as possible. Instead of having 34 students, his class has 26. Twenty are second graders (most of the same group as last year) and six are first graders.

The six first graders are native Mandarin speakers. I think the logic is that they will find it easier to keep up with the English half of the class. On his first week of homework the teacher hasn't sent home any Chinese work but I don't think last year's teacher did either this early in the year.

With the start of September Harriet was graduated from the "Tiny Tots" class to the "Busy Bees" class. These are the 3 and 4-year-olds in her preschool. She's now back with her best buds who were graduated earlier. She's very excited about being a Busy Bee. The only thing... after two days in the new class she figures she's ready for kindergarten.
Sep. 2nd, 2009 @ 08:30 pm

» Speculative fiction master list of reviewers

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Romanian French Chinese Danish Portuguese German

A

7 Foot Shelves
The Accidental Bard
A Boy Goes on a Journey
A Dribble Of Ink
Adventures in Reading
A Fantasy Reader
The Agony Column
A Hoyden's Look at Literature
A Journey of Books
All Booked Up
Alexia's Books and Such...
Andromeda Spaceways
The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.
Ask Daphne
ask nicola
Audiobook DJ
aurealisXpress
Australia Specfic In Focus
Author 2 Author
AzureScape

B

Barbara Martin
Babbling about Books
Bees (and Books) on the Knob
Best SF
Bewildering Stories
Bibliophile Stalker
Bibliosnark
Big Dumb Object
BillWardWriter.com
The Billion Light-Year Bookshelf
Bitten by Books
The Black Library Blog
Blog, Jvstin Style
Blood of the Muse
The Book Bind
Bookgeeks
Bookrastination
Booksies Blog
Bookslut
The Book Smugglers
Bookspotcentral
The Book Swede
Book View Cafe [Authors Group Blog]
Breeni Books

C

Cheaper Ironies [pro columnist]
Charlotte's Library
Circlet 2.0
Cheryl's Musings
Club Jade
Cranking Plot
Critical Mass
The Crotchety Old Fan

D

Daily Dose - Fantasy and Romance
Damien G. Walter
Danger Gal
It's Dark in the Dark
Dark Parables
Dark Wolf Fantasy Reviews
Darque Reviews
Dave Brendon's Fantasy and Sci-Fi Weblog
Dead Book Darling
Dear Author
The Deckled Edge
The Doctor is In...
Dragons, Heroes and Wizards
Drey's Library
The Discriminating Fangirl
Dusk Before the Dawn

E

Enter the Octopus
Erotic Horizon
Errant Dreams Reviews
Eve's Alexandria

F

Falcata Times
Fan News Denmark [in English]
Fantastic Reviews
Fantastic Reviews Blog
Fantasy Book Banner
Fantasy Book Critic
Fantasy Book Reviews and News
Fantasy By the Tale
Fantasy Cafe
Fantasy Debut
Fantasy Dreamer's Ramblings
Fantasy Literature.com
Fantasy Magazine
Fantasy and Sci-fi Lovin' News and Reviews
Feminist SF - The Blog!
Feybound
Fiction is so Overrated
The Fix
The Foghorn Review
Follow that Raven
Forbidden Planet
Frances Writes
Free SF Reader
From a Sci-Fi Standpoint
From the Heart of Europe
Fruitless Recursion
Fundamentally Alien
The Future Fire

G

The Galaxy Express
Galleycat
Game Couch
The Gamer Rat
Garbled Signals
Genre Reviews
Genreville
Got Schephs
Graeme's Fantasy Book Review
Grasping for the Wind
a GREAT read
The Green Man Review
Gripping Books

H

Hasenpfeffer
Hero Complex
Highlander's Book Reviews
Horrorscope
The Hub Magazine
Hyperpat's Hyper Day

I

I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away The Ending
Ink and Keys
Ink and Paper
The Internet Review of Science Fiction
io9

J

Janicu's Book Blog
Jenn's Bookshelf
Jumpdrives and Cantrips

K

Kat Bryan's Corner
Keeping the Door
King of the Nerds

L

Lair of the Undead Rat
Largehearted Boy
Layers of Thought
League of Reluctant Adults
The Lensman's Children
Library Dad
Libri Touches
Literary Escapism
Literaturely Speaking
ludis inventio
Lundblog: Beautiful Letters

M

Mad Hatter's Bookshelf and Book Review
Mari's Midnight Garden
Mark Freeman's Journal
Mark Lord's Writing Blog
Marooned: Science Fiction Books on Mars
Martin's Booklog
MentatJack
Michele Lee's Book Love
Missions Unknown [Author and Artist Blog Devoted to SF/F/H in San Antonio]
The Mistress of Ancient Revelry
MIT Science Fiction Society
Monster Librarian
More Words, Deeper Hole
Mostly Harmless Books
Multi-Genre Fan
Musings from the Weirdside
My Favourite Books
My Overstuffed Bookshelf

N

Neth Space
The New Book Review
NextRead
Not Free SF Reader
Nuketown

O

OF Blog of the Fallen
The Old Bat's Belfry
ommadawn.dk
Only The Best SciFi/Fantasy
The Ostentatious Ogre
Outside of a Dog

P

Paranormality
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist
Patricia's Vampire Notes
The Persistence of Vision
Piaw's Blog
Pizza's Book Discussion
Poisoned Rationality
Popin's Lair
pornokitsch
Post-Weird Thoughts
Publisher's Weekly
Pussreboots: A Book Review a Day

Q

R

Ramblings of a Raconteur
Random Acts of Mediocrity
Ray Gun Revival
Realms of Speculative Fiction
Reading the Leaves
Review From Here
Reviewer X
Revolution SF
Rhiannon Hart
The Road Not Taken
Rob's Blog o' Stuff
Robots and Vamps

S

Sandstorm Reviews
Satisfying the Need to Read
Science Fiction and Fantasy Ethics
Science Fiction Times
ScifiChick
Sci-Fi Blog
SciFiGuy
Sci-Fi Fan Letter
The Sci-Fi Gene
Sci-Fi Songs [Musical Reviews]
SciFi Squad
Scifi UK Reviews
Sci Fi Wire
Self-Publishing Review
The Sequential Rat
Severian's Fantastic Worlds
SF Diplomat
SFFaudio
SFFMedia
SF Gospel
SFReader.com
SF Reviews.net
SF Revu
SF Safari
SFScope
SF Signal
SF Site
SFF World's Book Reviews
Silver Reviews
Simply Vamptastic
Slice of SciFi
Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Solar Flare
Speculative Fiction
Speculative Fiction Junkie
Speculative Horizons
The Specusphere
Spinebreakers
Spiral Galaxy Reviews
Spontaneous Derivation
Sporadic Book Reviews
Stainless Steel Droppings
Starting Fresh
Stella Matutina
Stuff as Dreams are Made on...
The Sudden Curve
The Sword Review

T

Tangent Online
Tehani Wessely
Temple Library Reviews
Tez Says
things mean a lot
Tor.com [also a publisher]
True Science Fiction

U

Ubiquitous Absence
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Aug. 25th, 2009 @ 11:58 am
» Mt. Diablo and Doing the Right Thing
Since I lost my job I've been wanting to take the kids up to see the observation tower at Mt. Diablo. We finally got there on Tuesday. We had stopped at the library first so we were too late to see the museum that is at the base of the tower.

From Castro Valley to Mt. Diablo it's a straight shot on Grove which becomes Cull Canyon and then a bunch of other names before the turn at the private school to the south gate. The downside of going on surface streets like that is that it takes exactly an hour to the top.

We spent about forty minutes enjoying the view and going into the tower. We took pictures. We looked at the tower. We enjoyed the wildlife... swallows, dragonflies, scrub jays and so forth.

The park gates close at sunset. It was about 5:35 and the shadows were getting long. I figured we would have a little more time to explore if we headed down the mountain a ways.

Just before the first big turnout at the campground and outlook a blue station wagon started tailing me. The posted speed limit is 15. I had to go up to 35 to avoid him. Thinking he wanted to get ahead of me to get home I pulled into the lookout camp ground.

I remember the car passing me but as I was pulling the kids out of the car to go explore and see the view of the foothills the car pulled into the lot too. It parked right by the overlook sign. I didn't think anything of it until it started to drive off the edge of the parking lot.

My first thought was that in his hurry the driver hadn't remembered to put the car into reverse. When the car lurched forward two more times I went into "that's not right" mode.

The first thing Ian and I had done to save money after I lost my job was to cancel our cell phone plan. So although I was standing on a mountain with a clear view of two different cell relay towers, I had no phone. Sure, I could have used it to call 911 if I had it with me, but I haven't been carrying it. What's the point?

Since I didn't have a phone I decided to go find a camper who did. Thankfully the first site we came on had four people all who were willing to listen to me and to help me. The two women followed us up to the site where the car still was within reach of the parking lot (about 30 feet off the pavement and tangled up in manzanita and some tumbleweeds). The two men had hopped into a Jeep or similar to track down a ranger.

I put the kids in my car and moved the car so I could keep an eye on them but help with the situation. I rolled down the windows and gave them water to drink. I wanted them in the car away from any potential danger.

We tried all the ranger telephone numbers first but this late in the day they weren't answering. While the women were trying the numbers another woman who acted as if she had basic first aid training joined us. The car was still running so she and I managed to get the car turned off (rather than have it start a fire).

In going into the car that's when things go weird, depressing and disturbing. Taped to the steering wheel was a suicide note. The time on note was the time the car had pulled into the lot. I remember because I was checking the car clock to make sure we weren't over staying our day pass.

The driver was semiconscious and throwing up. His leg looked broken and his was wedged around the steering column. To keep him cool in his now hot car we poured water on his head from the water I keep in the trunk.

By then I had told the women with the phone to give up on ranger numbers and just try 911. They gave the phone to the first aid woman and of course she was put on hold. Eventually she got through but it took a good ten minutes to get our location across to the dispatcher.

I don't know if it was her instructions on our location or the mens' luck in finding a ranger but just after six they returned. The first aid woman told me I should go because they would probably be closing the gates soon. So I left half of my remaining stash of bottled water that I always carry in the trunk.

We could see a helicopter heading for the helipad down the road. A few turns down the road a ranger with lights and siren on came roaring up the hill. I stopped to yield to him but he shouted out his window if I knew where the car off the road was. I told him and he thanked me and roared off again.

We were later passed by a fire truck and ambulance.

I recently finished Falling into the Sun, a novel that starts with a witnessed suicide and how the event haunts the protagonist. That's a little how I feel, haunted even though he was still alive.

We all learned a lot more about this stranger we were trying to help but I've left the details vague on purpose.
Aug. 20th, 2009 @ 09:54 pm
» Pasta Take Two
As promised we served leftover chicken pasta salad last night. Harriet knew it was coming. We told her if she ate without complaining she could have dessert with her brother. While she didn't clean her bowl (not a requirement) she ate enough of it to make a dent. She ate without complaining (minus pulling a few faces). Tonight we're having spaghetti and meatballs, a type of pasta she actually does like.
Aug. 7th, 2009 @ 02:43 pm
» Pasta
For the most part Harriet has always been an adventurous eater. She is less sensitive to strong flavors than her brother. There is one thing though that she has decided she won't eat: pasta.

We don't actually cook much pasta at home but she is served it on a regular basis at her school. On Tuesday she threw a fit about the pasta and ended up on time out in the principal's office. She did eventually agree to eat some of her pasta (two or three pieces) but only with much complaining.

So this week we're doing what we had do with Sean a few years ago when he threw a bean related temper tantrum at school. We are including pasta in every dinner at home for at least a week.

We started off easy with mac and cheese (something she does like). Last night wasn't so successful. I made my usual chicken, grape and apple salad but I tossed in some bow tie pasta. She eagerly ate up everything except the pasta and was horrified when we demanded she eat the pasta too. She ultimately ended up going to bed early (and falling asleep). Tonight it's leftovers of the same chicken salad. Won't this be fun?
Aug. 6th, 2009 @ 02:42 pm
» NPR's 100 best summer reads for 2009
NPR has compiled a listener list of 100 best summer reads. I was curious to see how many I've read from it. For those of you not in the USA, yes, the list is slanted towards American fiction. I can't help that.

1. The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling (2/3 of  the series)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
3. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
4. Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
5. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells
7. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
10. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

Total: 6

 

11. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
12. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
13. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
14. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
16. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
17. Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett
18. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
19. Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
20. Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Total: 7

 

21. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
22. The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver
23. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, by Alexander McCall Smith
24. The World According to Garp, by John Irving
25. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
26. The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
27. Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel
28. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
29. The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler
30. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Total: 5

31. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
32. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
33. The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant
34. Beach Music, by Pat Conroy
35. One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
36. Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier
37. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
38. Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
39. The Thorn Birds, by Colleen McCullough
40. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon

Total: 3

 

41. Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett
42. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
43. Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice
44. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier
45. Empire Falls, by Richard Russo
46. Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes
47. The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
48. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, by Tom Robbins
49. I Know This Much Is True, by Wally Lamb
50. Murder on the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

Total: 5

51. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
52. The Stand, by Stephen King
53. She's Come Undone, by Wally Lamb
54. Dune, by Frank Herbert
55. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
56. Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
57. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
58. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
59. The Godfather, by Mario Puzo
60. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith

Total: 5

61. Animal Dreams, by Barbara Kingsolver
62. Jaws, by Peter Benchley
63. Good in Bed, by Jennifer Weiner
64. Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner
65. Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
66. The Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway
67. The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand
68. Breakfast of Champions, by Kurt Vonnegut
69. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
70. The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler

Total: 3

 

71. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
72. The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy
73. Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns
74. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
74. Bonfire of the Vanities, by Tom Wolfe [tie]
76. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
77. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon
78. The Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher
79. Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver
80. Eye of the Needle, by Ken Follett

Total: 4

 

81. Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck
81. The Pilot's Wife, by Anita Shreve [tie]
83. All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
84. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
85. The Little Prince, by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
86. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
87. One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich
88. Shogun, by James Clavell
89. Dracula, by Bram Stoker
90. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera

Total: 3

 

91. Presumed Innocent, by Scott Turow
92. Franny and Zooey, by J.D. Salinger
93. The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
94. Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
95. Summer Sisters, by Judy Blume
96. The Shining, by Stephen King
97. How Stella Got Her Groove Back, by Terry McMillan
98. Lamb, by Christopher Moore
99. Sick Puppy, by Carl Hiaasen
100. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson

Total: 5


Jul. 30th, 2009 @ 10:56 am
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