Friday, November 20, 2009

Community! Are you watching?

Are you watching Community? If not, you should be! It's the best comedy on TV right now. It has surpassed The Office as my new favorite show.

I can't tell you how much I love this show! The characters are great. Joel McHale as Jeff Winger is priceless. Chevy Chase as Pierce is great, too! But Abed, Abed (played by Danny Puni) is my favorite. He brings in that awkward silence, weird, "is he for real?" kind of funny.

I loved Joel McHale from The Soup, but seeing him acting & not commentating is even better. He's also in The Informant! with Matt Damon. I missed the movie release, but I'm definitely adding it to my Netflix list.

So that's my official plug.

Thanks to NBC to having some pretty good shows this season - Community, The Office, & 30 Rock. If they would move Park & Recreation to the end of the line up I'd appreciate it.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

"Chris Surette is a Dirtbag!" is #8 in Google Rankings!

That means if you (or a potential date/friend/employer) google "Chris Surette" the 6th result is "Chris Surette is a Dirtbag" from this blog.

Woo hoo! We've harnessed the power of the Google! Awesome!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has linked to, commented on, and/or read my post. With your help the world could/can/will know that Chris Surette is a Dirtbag AND that denigrating women is unacceptable. We won't stand for it. We will call foul when we see it.

THANK YOU again!

PS - Chris Surette/Dirtbag hasn't published anything since November 11th, but I've been checking. Maybe he's gotten himself a good pen name? I'll have to look into that!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

New Paolini Book? YA World Please Help Me!

Can anyone tell me when the new Christopher Paolini book is coming out? I cannot find it and I must know. Not because I lurve Christopher Paolini (really only moderately like him & his books), but it irks me to not know when the next installment in a series that I'm following is coming out. I suspect it will be released in 2011 (Oh, the horror!), but I'd really like confirmation on that. Knowing release dates is a symptom of my YA book-lurvin' illness. Obviously I need help, so if you know please relieve my stress and tell me!

From the edge of insanity,
EM

Friday, November 13, 2009

Chris Surette is a Dirtbag!

So far I've just been a mild feminist, but this guy is going to turn me into a raging feminist. I think I'll take off my bra, strap it to my head as my new war helmet. Then I'm going to march up to Fairfield University and kick some dirtbag butt!

Women, sisters, & dudes who are decent human beings check this guy out. http://fairfieldmirror.com/2009/10/01/he-said-the-walk-of-shame/

The picture to the right is Chris Surette. Chris Surette writes horrible articles degrading women. Chris Surette writes for The Fairfield Mirror. Chris Surette is a Dirtbag (and other things I will not say because this blog is PG-13).

How is this acceptable? How is this published in a university paper? How does this guy get girls?

Who is up for a Google bomb? I'm going for "Chris Surette is a Dirtbag". Also, Chris is still writing for The Mirror, so feel free to comment every column he writes! Here (http://fairfieldmirror.com/author/ChrisSurette/) is a link to all of this articles. I'm bookmarking this one.

Chris Surette is a dirtbag.

Chris Surette is a dirtbag.

Chris Surette is a dirtbag.

Chris Surette apologized, sort of, here (http://fairfieldmirror.com/2009/10/06/a-note-from-he-said/).

Chris Surette is a dirtbag.

Also, the students are protesting and getting action here (http://fairfieldmirror.com/2009/11/11/harassment-complaints-threaten-future-of-the-mirror/), but Chris Surette a dirtbag, still.

PS - I'm all about free speech and typically a total pacifist. So write on Chris Surette/dirtbag. Write your little misogynistic heart out. You'll write and I'll be there. Being that we're close the same age there's a good shot you'll have to put up with me the rest of your life. Isn't that a pleasant thought?

PS2 - Chris Surette is a dirtbag.

PS3 - I'm saying "Chris Surett is a dirtbag" because word/phrase repitition & links are the main ways Google decides rankings? So link to me! And I repeat "Chris Surette is a dirtbag!"

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

New Shoes... I'm excited... :o)

Aren't they sweet? And they were practically free because I used reward points to buy them. Nothing like cute, practically free shoes!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Review: The Red Queen's Daughter by Jacqueline Kolosov

Synopsis from GoodReads:

Mary Seymour is the daughter of the great Katherine Parr--the last Queen of Henry VIII. Orphaned at a young age because of her mother's bad marriage to Thomas Seymour, Mary determines early on that love is a sentiment that causes foolishness at best, and death at worst. She is sent to be raised by Lady Strange, a mysterious noblewoman who informs her of her destiny: Mary is to be a white magician who will join Queen Elizabeth's court and ensure her safe reign. After spending her early years honing her education and learning the arts of the white magician, Mary is indeed invited to join Elizabeth's court as a Lady in Waiting. There is she is met with warm welcome from the Queen, but soon realizes that the court is also rife with ambitious men and women who are jockeying for power. The most dangerous of these is Edmund Seymour, Mary's cousin. The moment she meets the dark, mysterious courtesan, Mary is drawn to him despite herself. Edmund is a black magician--the mirror image of Mary's own powers. When Edmund becomes embroiled in a plot to overthrow the Queen, Mary has to risk everything she believes to fulfill her calling. But playing this dangerous game could cost her more than she ever imagined.

My Thoughts: The Red Queen's Daughter fills all of my "book love" requirements - historical, paranormal, & YA. Add a splash of romantic intrigue and WHAMO! 5 star book. Sadly I can only give this one 4 stars because I thought it was too short. I would have enjoyed more details and dialog. This story lacked real meat. But I loved the premise & the primary characters, so I felt reading TRQD was time well spent.

I would recommend The Red Queen's Daughter only to fans of the Tudor period & gothic, historical YA.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Followers! Reading! Ranting!

(1) Did you know I have 8 followers? How did this happen? I'm totally elated. Hi 8 people! I may not post often, but I totally appreciate your attention. **smile**

(2) I've been filling my head with this YA fluff lately... I've just lifted the synopses from GoodReads.

Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
A modern girl's comedic odyssey in a school filled with the descendants of Greek gods.
When Phoebe's mom returns from Greece with a new husband and moves them to an island in the Aegean, Phoebe's plans for her senior year and track season are ancient history. Now she must attend the uber exclusive academy, where admission depends on pedigree, namely, ancestry from Zeus, Hera, and other Greek gods. That's right, they're real, not myth, and their teen descendants are like the classical heroes -supersmart and superbeautiful with a few superpowers. And now they're on her track team! Armed only with her Nikes and the will to win, Phoebe races to find her place among the gods.

My Thoughts: Very fun to read. The plot is weak in places, but the story is so fun I really didn't care.

The Luxe by Anna Godberson
A big, sumptuous tale of catty girls, dark secrets and windswept romance unfurls in this compulsively readable novel of late-19th-century New York City socialites. Godbersen weaves a tenuous web of deceit, backstabbing and pretense that follows four teens: Elizabeth Holland, a prim and proper lady of old-money society, is betrothed to one man, though furtively loves another; Henry Schoonmaker, a debauched playboy who must marry Elizabeth or be disinherited; Diana Holland, Elizabeth’s younger sister who is in love with her fiancĂ©; and Penelope Hayes, a member of the nouveau riche who will stop at nothing to win Henry’s affections. As Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding approaches, the spectacle unfolds in a wondrously grandiose scene, making for a fun, though not entirely unexpected dĂ©nouement. A delicious new twist along the Gossip Girl vein, readers will clamor for this sharp, smart drama of friends, lovers, lies and betrayal.

My Thoughts: DRAMA! A very dramatic love story with loads of historical charm.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment. But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel. For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

My Thoughts: The long awaited Hush Hush did live up to most of my expectations. I would have liked the pacing to be more even throughout, because all of the action happens at the end. However, I'm really looking forward to how this series plays out.

Sovay by Celia Rees
England, 1783. When the rich and beautiful Sovay isn't sitting for portraits, she's donning a man's cloak and robbing travelers in broad daylight. But in a time when political allegiances between France and England are strained, a rogue bandit is not the only thing travelers fear. Spies abound, and rumors of sedition can quickly lead to disappearances. So when Sovay lifts the wallet of one of England's most powerful and dangerous men, it's not just her own identity she must hide, but that of her father. A dazzling historical saga in which the roles of thieves and gentry, good and bad, and men and women are interchanged to riveting effect.

My Thoughts: I liked the historical elements of this book. Lots of interesting characters. The end was very dramatic, but the first half of the book felt slow. Getting through the slow part was totally worth it though. If you like The Red Necklace & A Tale of Two Cities you should try Sovay.

Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Can Cameron find what he’s looking for? All 16-year-old Cameron wants is to get through high school—and life in general—with a minimum of effort. It’s not a lot to ask. But that’s before he’s given some bad news: he’s sick and he’s going to die. Which totally sucks. Hope arrives in the winged form of Dulcie, a loopy punk angel/possible hallucination with a bad sugar habit. She tells Cam there is a cure—if he’s willing to go in search of it. With the help of a death-obsessed, video-gaming dwarf and a yard gnome, Cam sets off on the mother of all road trips through a twisted America into the heart of what matters most.

My Thoughts: I'm going to call it - This book will win the Printz award for 2009. It's an incredibly well written, honest, intriguing journey of a book. However, I figured out the "big surprise" pretty early and I think it spoiled the Don Quixote-like road trip that took up the remaining 300 pages. That said - if I'm attached to a character I can easily overlook something like that, but in this case Cameron and I didn't connect. He was nearly unlikable (like most 17 yr old boys) in the beginning, but I did start to warm up to him about half way through and by that time I'd already been spoiled. :(

(3) Do you every feel you are totally at the mercy of the universe? I do. Control is an illusion. How does you come to just accept it? I feel a serious rant coming on, but I'm doing my best to stifle it. My new motto is "I live to serve the emperor!" Argh! The agony!