A trip to Austenland?

Books

I just finished a nice little book called Austenland by Shannon Hale. I was intrigued by the concept and by the fact that I knew Hale as a YA author and she was now moving into the realm of adult fiction, much as Meg Cabot did. In fact, Hale’s writing reminds of Cabot. It’s sharp, smart and keeps just enough of your funny bone tickled to make the reading from becoming too biting.

Austenland is the story of a young woman, who like many of us, loves Jane Austen. But when she finds herself in a fantasy “theme park” playing the role of a Regency young woman in a house full of Austen-esque characters it becomes hard to remember it’s all an act. Especially hard to remember when faced with the prospect of her own Austen hero stepping out of the pages and fulfilling her deepest fantasy.

Hand

My right hand is doing much better. I’ve been able to take off even the little bandage over the actual incision and it’s drying up quite well. I have a large bruise on my palm that makes shifting gears a bit unpleasant. It looks a bit icky, but in a couple of weeks more you will barely see the mark if it’s anything like my left.

Harry Potter

I am a Potter fan. Or I was up until books 6 and 7. Rowling’s final two books had two essential problems IMHO. First of all, they started to read like fanfiction. In fact, what was scary was that I had seen fanfiction that was better written, more imaginative and thought out, than Rowling’s last two installments. Much of the books read as if she had read the fanfiction and said, “Hmmm…I like that idea. Yes, it’s what I’ve had planned all along.”

Secondly, the last book had elements that were not suitable for the audience to whom the books had always been targeted. The mistaken idea that your audience is growing with your characters supposes that new fans will only read one book per year. That’s not how children read. When kids find a series they like, they will devour it in as short a time as possible. So that cute 9 or 10 year old who is delighted by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s (Philosopher’s) Stone will be confronted in book seven by the torturing of a main character and multiple occasions of implied sexual violence. I’m not kidding. What did you think happened to Dumbledore’s sister? And the remarks of Greyback about how “tasty” Hermione is? Yes, he wants to bite her, but the implication goes beyond that.

I will be seeing the sixth movie. I have enjoyed the film series for itself and am curious as to how they will manage all the content of these books. I’m also interested to see how actors that were cast as children have grown to rise to the occasion. Some solid and impressive acting will be required by those playing Draco, Neville and Ginny. Who knows, we may actually get to see Alan Rickman act rather than stand about in camera shot looking grim and intimidating. From the stills released, it looks like the scene between he and Narcissa Malfoy will be in the film. I was certain that would be one of the first things cut.

Oh, and I can’t wait for the final confrontation in the last film between Helena Bonham-Carter and Julie Walters. That short bit will be worth the price of admission.

Yeah!

Z
What do you get when a librarian and a reading teacher breed? Z is seven months old. No, he's not reading but he loves to look at the bright pictures and play with the book.

Yeah !
No more hunting and pecking. I got my bandages removed today. I still have to be careful, it’s only been 10 days since the surgery and while the stitches were removed, the incision site is still not fully healed and the wrist and hand are still sore and bruised. But it’s nice to be able to type semi-normally again.

Politics

I’m watching the Senate confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Nominee Judge Sotomayor. I now have no doubt why nothing ever gets done in Washington, DC. The Judicial Committee has been in session since 10:30 this morning and has accomplished nothing except that each member of the committee has given an opening statement. It seems to me we could have significantly cut the time and the cost of this process if the procedures were reviewed briefly and then everyone got down to business. You’re all (Republican and Democrat) going to repeat this nonsense later as you question her so why are we spending so much time hearing about what you’re going to ask her? Just ask it for Pete’s sake.

This is why our country and our economy are in trouble. No one can get past their own bs long enough to do their job. Seems that part of the Oath of Office they keep secret is that you swear to be as full of hot air as is humanly possible.

By the way, does any one else find it flippin’ surreal to see Al Frankin as a Senator? I keep expecting him to blurt out, “And this is Saturday Night Live.”

Books

I just finished reading World Without Winter by Steve Pierce. I’m writing a review for the September 09 eMuse but let’s just say I don’t recommend the book. It has certainly made me appreciate my own editor and the writing seminars I’ve attended. The writing in this novel can be summed up by calling it undisciplined. It fails to follow the important rule of writing that says that what happens in your story should serve the purpose of the plot.

I recently bemoaned the problem of authors who cut too much to keep to a low word count; this book has the opposite problem. It has too much filler, chapters and chapters of irrelevance that do nothing to advance the plot. Pierce obviously felt strongly about global warming and was eager to demonstrate his scientific prowess, but this story just simply was not meant to be a novel.

If you're looking for quality writing I suggest you check out Goblin Market by Jennifer Hudock. This free podcast novel has the first two installments up on Hudock's website, www.jenniferhudock.com . This is fantasy as it should be done. If you like stories of faeries, or contemporary fairytales, you'll love it.

My Right Hand

I never realized all the things I rely on my right hand to do. I mean, I had thought in advance of the two handed tasks I’d need to make arrangements for like carrying, changing and bathing Z. But there are things I didn’t expect to have trouble with; stupidly forgetting I was abdicating use of my dominant hand. Opening bottles, like the Advil, with a child proof cap has proven interesting.

There has, however, been a certain degree of compensatory entertainment to be had from watching my SO do certain tasks I’ve pretty much taken on full-time. For example, we make Z’s baby food ourselves. Other than the first introduction and a couple of back up jars, just in case, we don’t buy it. I put up quite a bit before my surgery, but due to our limited freezer space some of it had to wait. So now I get to watch someone who literally ended up with the fire dept. intervening in the making of pork chops, baking & pureeing apples. Of course the avocado puree will be even more interesting since K hates avocados.

Okay, this is all the hunting and pecking I can manage for now.

Do You Dare?

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The very talented author, Jennifer Hudock, has opened the doorway to the land of the fey. Before you feast on that gloriously forbidden fruit, be sure you can pay the price demanded in the

Goblin Market

Surgery day

As bad as I am about updating it's likely no one will notice, but I may not be able to be post for a week or so. Surgery is set for this morning on my rt. hand. If I update for a bit depends on a.) how this doctor bandages and b.) how frustrated I get with typing one handed. Too bad the dogs can't really type my blog for me. Or one of my characters. I shall, perhaps, have to be satisfied with posting witty pictures stolen from someone else.

I've not been nervous, but I'm up early and have a distinct queasiness and a headache. Of course this could be from not having any liquids since about 9pm last night. Ugh! I chose the kitty picture (*snicker*) because I've been a grump the last few days and his face is just a perfect reflection of my mood.

I'm not the only one. Z and I are having a grumpfest. He's crabby, I'm crabby, so there! Munchkin has allergies. We were pretty sure of this since everytime the SO is runny-eyed and snuffling, so is Z. He's mouth breathing a lot lately which means he's gulping air and getting a gassy upset tummy. Cranky, fussy, no sleep through the night Z means a grumpy mom. The doctor started him on infant zyrtec but it doesn't help his congestion. You can't treat congestion in children under 6 because of the dangers of decongestants, evidently.

I do have a perverse sense of pleasure in knowing that for the next week or so since I can't technically "lift" the baby, K is going to have to take over. Sweet sleep, you shall finally be mine.

Sometimes we need to remember...

On the other hand...there are also a lot of basement cats as well.
I've been exposed today by two separate instances of businesses who have procedures that make it almost impossible to stop them from taking my money. The first is Balley Fitness and the next is AOL. Both companies do their payments by direct deduction. The problem is, when you are done with their services both make it impossible to stop the deductions. Imagine an online internet provider that does not allow you an method of terminating their services online.

Instead, in both cases you have to call them, wait excessively for someone to come on the line and stop taking your money. And of course the hours of operation for the businesses are more restrictive than banker's hours.

:(

Our usual Sunday morning breakfast place has recently changed ownership. While change is always unsettling, this morning brought unpleasant changes. We were surprised to find very few people there when we arrived. The group of motorcycle enthusiasts who normally gather every Sunday morning to share coffee, cigars (at the outdoor tables), and laughs were not there. The teacher who stops off after his morning trip to the gym and pops open his laptop to surf the net or work on the next week's lesson plans and his co-worker who brings her daughter in after her morning run, not there. An English family who has Sunday morning gatherings with their college age kids, not there.

Then I figured out why. There have been some substantial changes. The sidewalk and the iron tables outside the cafe have been declared "non-smoking" by the new owner. The wi-fi is no longer free. And the menu and prices have changed. the menue has been cut down and the prices have gone up.

Sigh* I guess we'll be trying out the local Dunkin Donuts.

For Family and Friends:
It's been a while since we sent grandparents a video and the email video isn't working. So these images are for friends and family. Z is now just a week away from 7 months.

"I love my jumperoo. Mom moved it to the kitchen today so she could make babyfood while I watched."

Michael Jackson

Almost everyone who has access to a television or radio now knows that Michael Jackson has died. Normally the death of such a mega-star would bring out an unmitigated outpouring of love and sorrow. And on television we are seeing that happen for Jackson. But what I keep hearing over and over again from those individuals being interviewed is a guilty remorse or a qualification of their sorrow. There seems to be almost a need to split Jackson into two different people to make it acceptable to mourn.

I understand this. No one wants to be seen as showing sympathy to the man who has been tagged in pop culture as Wacko Jacko. He’s been the subject of multiple law suits over the years and has done things to outrage, shock and distress people all over the world. There was the flat out weird behavior reported on in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. He bought the skeleton of the Elephant Man. He and his chimp Bubbles made headlines for a long time. Then there was the devastation of the child molestation charges of which he was cleared. We can blame this on Jackon’s fame and money, but the legal reality is he was presumed innocent of charges and those charges were never proven. Then there was the plastic surgery that seemed to go to a level that rebirthed questions of Jackson’s sanity.

But I propose it is perfectly okay to mourn all of who Michael Jackson was. If the stories of his childhood that have come out from those around him, including his sister LaToya, are true, then our hearts should grieve for the little boy who never grew up and the man who faced our world in isolation, fearful of the people around him. It’s okay to feel sorry for Wacko Jacko, because we know there was great pain behind the making of that man. He suffered from battered child syndrome we know, and there are speculations he also suffered from anorexia nervosa and a mental disorder resulting from the pressures and abuse of his early life that affected his ability to adjust to change and to grow and mature as a normal adult should have. He had confirmed medical issues such as vitiligo, which goes beyond just effecting his skin pigment and can effect a suffers autoimune system and make it painful for them to be exposed to the sun when severe, and lupis which is usually fatal.

When pressed about the truth of the rumors, Jackson once told a reporter: “Why not just tell people I'm an alien from Mars. Tell them I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight. They'll believe anything you say, because you're a reporter. But if I, Michael Jackson, were to say, 'I'm an alien from Mars and I eat live chickens and do a voodoo dance at midnight,' people would say, 'Oh, man, that Michael Jackson is nuts. He's cracked up. You can't believe a damn word that comes out of his mouth.’”

But if you need to separate them, then do so because the world owes its sympathy and mourning the Michael Jackson the artist. No one has changed and impacted music, film, dance and pop culture as much. Maybe not even Elvis. I know that’s an inflammatory comment, but I believe it’s true.

Michael Jackson had been making music and commanding attention for his seemingly unlimited talent since before I was born and he’s only 7 years older than me. I grew up watching the animated Jackson 5 Saturday Morning show. I remember playing the Off the Wall album (yes, this was in the days when we actually had albums) and dancing around with my young cousins Ben and Kevin while babysitting them. (I’m sure both are thankful there was no one about with a camera for these events as they tended to be dressed in their Batman pajamas at the time.) I remember Thriller as the first album my younger sister ever purchased for herself. I remember the guys in my high school with the modified Michael Jackson jackets. The moonwalk was the dance to do at high school dances. In the years that have passed his dance and singing styles have opened the door and are mirrored in the moves and music of many of today's popular artists.

So may his family, especially his children, feel the effects of the prayers and good wishes of those whose young lives their father touched.