Saturday, May 5, 2007
The passport lineup has been stood in.
The tickets have been bought.
We are going to Australia in the fall!
A friend is getting married and we decided to use it as an excuse to spend a stupid amount of money on a real trip. I have never been outside North America, the farthest south I’ve been is San Francisco, the farthest east is New Brunswick.
We are hitting Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney on our 15 day trip. I wish we could stay longer, but dogs (and cash) hinder us somewhat. Dogs are like kids but not as expensive, sticky or loud, would you up and leave your kid with friends for a month? I doubt it.
While in Australia I am determined to:
a) Hug a koala somewhere
b) Hug a wombat at the Australia Zoo (I have also still never been to a real zoo, so we will be going to 2 or 3 of them)
c) Take some awesome pictures to document the fact that I have actually gone somewhere
d) Relax and have fun and not check my work email
e) Drink some wine
f) Not get strip searched by US Customs
g) Avoid sunburn and sunstroke
Any other suggestions?
Saturday, April 28, 2007
This isn’t the best Reacher novel but it also certainly isn’t the worst. Jack Reacher kicks ass again, but this time with a group of Army buddies, which gives fans a whole new view of Reacher as he works with and interacts with more people in this novel than he has in the past 3 or 4 put together.
True Reacher style:
Dixon’s room was the same. Empty, but trashed.....
And Neagley’s.
And Reacher’s own. His folding toothbrush was on the floor, stepped on and crushed.
“Bastards,” he said.
“You made a will?” she asked.
“No point,” Reacher said. “Now they broke my toothbrush I don’t own anything.”
“How does that feel?”
“Bad. I liked that toothbrush. It’s been with me a long time.”
How can you not love this guy?
Saturday, April 21, 2007
There are people in life who are just naturally lucky, who seem to have horseshoes up their ass. People who can quit a job on a whim, and the next day they get a better job that pays more. People who can waltz into a store and pick up a Nintendo Wii. People who, though they seem to have no actual occupation, seem to be able to travel the world with only a moment’s notice.
I am not one of those people. Take this week for example:
1. I bought these beautiful mugs the other day (because they match my library). I innocently enough popped one in the microwave for no more than 40 seconds to heat up some milk. Being that it was less than 40 seconds, I opened up the microwave and grabbed the cup, resulting in burns on my thumb as well as two fingers. Apparently the mugs were fashioned by Satan.
2. I got cool new glasses last week cause I seem to be spending more and more hours staring at the computer. I wore them for a week then popped in to the optometrist’s on my lunch break to get them tightened up a bit - simple no?
Not for me. When they heated up the frames the lenses were destroyed, the coatings all cracked. I had to leave the glasses there so they could get me new lenses. Keep in mind I am blind as a bat. Luckily (ha ha) they had some contact lenses close to my prescription, so I could at least find my way back to work.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Since we were staying home over the long weekend, my top priority was to see Tarantino & Rodriguez’s Grindhouse on opening day. We went to the first showing, a matinee filled with other dedicated fans.
The movies rock, as do the fake previews. Rodriguez’s Planet Terror is not for the faint of heart in a few scenes, but if you are faint of heart, you are not likely to watch a movie by Taratino/Rodiguez anyway (unless it’s Spy Kids). Tarantino’s Death Proof is starts slow and talky. I happen to like talkly, particularly if it’s written by Tarantino, as he has a knack for writing cool conversations, not forced dialogue between static characters.
Depending on what review you read, you might see an A or a D. Assume that the D review was written by some old fart who doesn’t get it, and who had no reason to be watching it in the first place.
As for which portion of the film is better - my husband preferred Tarantino’s. Myself, I can’t decide between my love of zombies (Planet Terror) and my love of good dialogue (Death Proof).
Go see it for yourself so the poor Weinsteins can make more money and stop calling the movie a failure.
I find it interesting how some people fall off other people’s radar when all they have done is live their life. They do not hurt anyone, they are not mean or rude, they are simply drifting along. Yet others, some who are inconsiderate, some who are also just drifting along living their lives, remain a blip on everyone’s radar, making them seemingly more important than person A.
I guess life is still a popularity contest, even when you are 30 years old, but it’s not a nice feeling invisible, to go through life feeling like no one gives a shit about you or your existence on the planet.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
When I got to the end of this book, I immediately wanted to start reading #10. Unfortunately, #10 is only out in hardcover right now (I collect this series in regular old paperback).
Of all the various series I read, Repairman Jack is the most original and least repetitive, with only a few characters (not a whole cast of clowns) that the reader needs to remember and keep track of.
My husband recently started reading again, and when he asked two weeks ago what he should go for, I gave him the first Repairman Jack book, The Tomb. He is about to start book #3 tomorrow. ‘nuff said.
Acting good.
Movie long.
Story slow.
If you’ve ever watched any of the myriad A&E shows on the topic of the Zodiac killer, then there are no surprises to be had in this movie.
And for me, if there are no surprises, there’s no point.
For some of the most moronic photos (stills from the movie), check out the movie’s website.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
A few more hours.
I have just a few more hours before my youth is stolen from me.
Before all fancy takes flight and the dullness of adulthood encroaches on my life.
Okay so I’m being melodramatic.
I’m only turning 30. It’s not like I’m 35 or anything.
And it’s not like I have failed to complete a list of “things to do before I turn 30”, because I don’t have such a list.
So nyah nyah.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
So we finally got to watch The Departed tonight. (I went and bought it cause I didn’t want to wait for it to show up from Zip.ca.)
If you tell anyone I said this, I’ll deny it, but Leonardo DiCaprio is awesome in it, not in any way annoying or smug.
The movie in general is pretty awesome.
Enjoy a bastardly Jack Nicholson? Watch it.
Like to hear Matt Damon speak with a Boston accent? Watch it.
Enthralled by Mark Wahlberg’s really bad haircut? Watch it.
Alec Baldwin catch your fancy? Watch it.
Like a little Martin Sheen?
Want to see DiCaprio be something other than a smug whiny pretty boy?
Go watch it.
I’ll even lend you my copy if that’s what it takes.
Now, I liked Little Miss Sunshine just as much as the next guy, but me, I prefer a little blood, violence and coarse language.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
So my firm hires a lady to help me out at work. And while she is to be assisting me, she is more than a decade older than me, which is kinda weird. So we’re having a conversation yesterday and I find out she has 2 kids in their twenties (she started young) and blah blah blah. She asks, “So you’re not going to have children of your own?” I say “No, I don’t like them they are sticky and loud” she “And you’re husband feels the same?” Me “Yup, we even had it in our wedding vows - dogs not kids.” “Well, you still might change your mind, I think you’d be a good mom.” Apparently she feels all women need to pop a baby out of them at some point. And why, when I flat out told her that I don’t like children, would she think I would be a good mom? I would think that most people would agree that if someone knows they don’t like children (because they are sticky and loud, and I hate sticky and loud) that someone should not have children. People who love children should have them. People who don’t like them should just babysit once in a while so the others can go out for dinner.
From Bellanonline
“I like my house in order. I don’t like a lot of noise or chaos in my home. I like my stuff in order. I don’t want kids the same way some people say they don’t want a cat or dog. I don’t want the responsibility and I don’t want to give up my financial independence. I don’t want to be a parent the same way I didn’t want to be a doctor – it just didn’t interest me enough.”
If you ignore the “order” part this quote can speak for me as well as its original writer.
So I was trolling around Mr. King’s site a few weeks ago and found an entry where he raves about an American author, Meg Gardiner, whose books are awesome but are published in the UK only, not the US. King laments this loss to the US readers, who can only get her books if they order them in. King compared her to Lee Child and Michael Connelly. As soon as you compare someone to Child, you intrigue me and you better be prepared for a fight.
Luckily I am Canadian, and our bookstores carry a lot of UK books in stock. I was able to get 3 of her books in store, ordered the first one in and then - horror of horrors, the second book seemed unavailable (within a reasonable amount of time). I am a purist, and if there is a series of books I absolutely must read them in order or I feel I am doing the author and characters a disservice. I found a slightly used copy of the second book on eBay, and voilà, I was now armed and ready to read.
While for me, Gardiner is certainly no Lee Child/Jack Reacher, her first Evan Delaney book, China Lake, is quite good and the main characters are certainly ones to enjoy another adventure with. I think King’s impassioned review of this book in this week’s Entertainment Weekly, is a bit hyperbolic though. I mean, the book did not change my life or stop my world from turning. However, I am now a little more than halfway through the second book, Mission Canyon, and am enjoying it even more than the first. I think the story is more controlled and closer to the main characters.
Aside from his note on his website, King has now used his back-page column in this week’s Entertainment Weekly as a plea to readers to go out and demand access to Gardiner’s books. King is a smart one, his pleas have worked before, getting an audio book published for a much turned down author, and getting a CD made for a much turned down band. Let’s hope his plea works, and soon the American people can walk into one of their mega bookstores and pick Gardiner’s books off the shelf (well, the literate ones anyway).
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Fun movie.
My exclamation to my husband in the parking lot after the film:
“Those 3 crazy fuckers all covered in blood, man they were so cool, they were like something right out of a Richard Laymon book!” The best thing is I know I am the only girl on the planet who would ever exclaim such a thing.
Oh yeah, and Ryan Reynolds was really good, and super cute.
If you don’t like guns or crazy guys covered in blood don’t bother. And don’t tell me it’s too violent. It’s just make-believe kiddies.
Picked this up cause I had nothing to read while waiting for Meg Gardiner’s books to arrive. It’s a cute little book, I may even pick up the sequel. Sansom writes in a similar vein to Magnus Mills, who is a favourite of mine. However, Mills is far superior, try All Quiet on the Orient Express or The Restraint of Beasts instead.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Friday Night Lights, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Brothers & Sisters, 30 Rock, Veronica Mars. All really good shows.
I don’t know why I am addicted to Friday Night Lights, but I am.
But see, since I live in Canada it does not matter what I watch or what I think. We don’t count when it comes to the stupid ratings, regardless of the fact that there are almost 40 million of us and lots of shows are actually filmed here.
So I picked this up under duress, as my choices were limited and I had nothing to read while I await the delivery of Meg Gardiner’s books.
I hate, hate, hate buying books with covers like this, particularly since most of my reading is done in public. I must say, however, that if the North American version had the same cover as the UK version, I certainly would not have purchased it at all.
I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this book. Publisher’s Weekly said, “fans of Anita Blake and Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse vampire series will be rewarded” and I agree completely. The publisher is releasing the other 3 in the series one a month for the next 3 months, which means at least I’ll have something to read.
So it’s not a bad book.
The writing is okay, but it’s also nothing to write home about.
Entertainment Weekly’s review of it is a certainly over the top:
"You know you're holding a first-rate thriller when you take it with you in the car to read at stoplights."
- Entertainment Weekly. Grade: A. (Jennifer Reese)
First of all, EW, if your need to read is that intense might I suggest that you take an alternate form of transportation from place to place? Secondly, if this book makes you want to read it a stoplights, I fear what would happen if you read something that was actually thrilling, or in fact, in any way exciting. Because this book is neither of those things. The guy from the LA Times must have been reading a different book than me, because, “exciting and out of the ordinary... full of funny, touching and alarming surprises...” is pretty much the opposite of how I would describe this book.
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