This is of no interest to anyone but me, but here's a list of the books coming out next year that I'm excited to read (this will be updated, probably):
January:
5: Captivate by Carrie Jones (sequel to Need), Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves, Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers, Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler, Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinsky, It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs
12: The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova, All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab
19: Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris, The Mark by Jen Nadol
21: The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes
26: Blood Ties by Kay Hooper
February:
1: Possessed by Kate Cann, Numbers by Rachel Ward
2: Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian
10: The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens
16: Horns by Joe Hill
23: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place by Maryrose Wood
March:
2: House Rules by Jodi Picoult, Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
9: Arcadia Falls by Carol Goodman, So Much for That by Lionel Shriver, The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
16: Vampire Diaries: Shadow Souls by LJ Smith, The Body Finder by Kimberly Dirting
23: Every Little Thing in the World by Nina de Gramont, Caught by Harlan Coben
April:
1: Cool Beans by Erynn Mangum, This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer (sequel to Life As We Knew It)
6: Strange Fate (Night World) by LJ Smith
20: Radiant Shadows by Melissa Marr
27: The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg, The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong (Darkest Powers book), The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
May:
3: The Red Thread by Ann Hood
4: After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, Lies by Michael Grant (sequel to Gone and Hunger)
25: Heart of Valor by LJ Smith, Night of the Solstice by LJ Smith, The Lighter Side of Life & Death by CK Kelly Martin
June:
1: My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares, The One That I Want by Allison Winn Scotch
10: The Evil Within by Nancy Holder (sequel to Possessions)
15: Churched by Matthew Paul Turner, The Nobodies Album by Carolyn Parkhurst
July:
13: Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner, Broken by Karin Slaughter
Originally published at Calobee Doodles. You can comment here or there.
Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.
Here are some of my favorites:
Sexsmith. It's playful. It's fun. If a font could be sexy, this one would be sexy. I use Sexsmith over at Calobee Doodles and it's one of those I keep coming back to... I have to force myself not to over-use it!
Rosewood Std Fill. This font was designed to be used as a (you guessed it) fill for its fancy cousin, Rosewood Std, but I think it stands quite well on its own.
Didot. One of my regular design practices involves combining a simple serif with a simple sans-serif, and this is my simple serif font of choice.
Little Days. Another of my Calobee Doodles favorites. Whimsical and a little loopy, just like me!
Respect the font, people. What are your favorites?
Originally published at sixhours.net. You can comment here or there.
I'm feeling a little nostalgic. Last year at this time I was eagerly counting down the days until the arrival of Miss Elspeth and wondering what the future had in store. Well, the future is now, as they say. Here's a snapshot:
Babies come with luggage, not baggage...
Then: Our living room had a fairly straightforward arrangement. Chairs, a TV, a lamp, a bookshelf or two--simple, functional, nothing fancy.
Now: It looks like a Toys R Us exploded. There's a sippy cup in the middle of the floor, and I'm pretty sure it's been there for three days. There's this behemoth of a thing we call the Pack n' Play sitting in one corner, although the name is misleading... it implies that baby might play in it. It should actually be called Baby's Favorite Torture Device, because that's what you'd think we were doing when we put her in it.
Handling someone else's excrement is...
Then: Not happening.
Now: Any diaper that doesn't require a new outfit or a bath on the part of either changee or changer is a good diaper, no matter how stinky.
The soft spot is...
Then: Eurghh. *shudder*
Now: I admit, I'm still squicked out by the soft spot. If you're not familiar, it's that part of the baby's skull that hasn't yet fused, leaving an opening covered by skin. If you happen to press on it (I wish you wouldn't) it's like pressing into warm Silly Putty... if that Silly Putty were made of your baby's brains.
On the pacifier...
Then: Hadn't said the word "binky" more than a handful of times in my life. Probably didn't know what "binky" meant. Didn't care.
Now: I say it a handful of times each day, usually preceded by "Where is the damn..." or "What the hell happened to the...." Binkies, like cat toys, have this nasty habit of disappearing to hold secret binky meetings under the furniture.
Laundry--I'm...
Then: Always drowning in it, but there's hope!
Now: Always drowning in it, and there's no hope in sight. Considering nudism.
On sleep (or a lack thereof)...
Then: 6 a.m. is an ungodly hour. No self-respecting lover of sleep should be subjected to it.
Now: "It's 6:15 a.m.? She let us sleep in! Wait, is she alive? Yes? WOOHOO!"
Alarm clocks are...
Then: A necessity if I want to get to work before 8.
Now: Still necessary, but we got a new one. This particular model totally ignores all user programming, is loud, insistent, and I've yet to find the snooze button.
When someone tells you that having a kid will change your life... take heed. Listen to them and listen well. Now, where is that damn binky...
I had the misfortune to watch this movie last night. I was so looking forward to it. Apparently I like torturing myself.
How do these movies get made? How do they persuade talent to do them? They're not even funny.
Here are my beefs.
1) It's always tight-ass, neurotic, cat-loving, super controlling women who are stunningly good looking but incapable of finding a man. Inevitably because their standards are 'just too high', [a] and they are just plain desperate because its been [insert time period] since they've had good sex. The woman, though intelligent and educated is always extremely naive when it comes to 'how to get a guy' and has to enlist the help of all kinds of jaded or sex deprived friends to help her land a good one.
This is just plain ridiculous. Don't knock standards, they can be very helpful and protective, and can often be a sign that someone knows themselves, and what works for them, well. Also, Sex isn't the be all or the end all, nor is it the most important thing in a relationship. The single woman/cat lover cliche is SO VERY OLD! In this movie the main female character was portrayed in being so wrapped up in her ideals of a man and so desperate to catch him that she allowed herself to do all kinds of hi-jinks that were so anti her thoughtful and controlled character. Granted we all do stupid things from time to time, but you can't sell me on the idea that a T.V. producer who can make split second decisions on which camera to go to, and the best thing to say in a situation would not find an excuse to visit the powder room and remove her climax inducing panties before a business dinner, or feel the need to Cyrano de Bergerac her way through a baseball game date with earpieces, sounding to all the world like someone suffering from acute Turrets Syndrome.
2) It's always guys [b] who are the lowest common denominators of maleness. Sex is the most important thing, and the more you get of it the better a "man" you are. Men only put up with relationships for the sake of getting sex. They think with their penis and as rude and crass as they want to be.
Seriously. Grow up! If this is all that you are going to be, we're well shot of you! Men take responsibility, Men give and receive, Guys take and callously use others. In this movie the main character not only disparages women who are lonely on a regular basis, but he repeatedly ignored his supervisors instructions on air, and basically only did what he wanted to do. Every once and a while you see a glimpse of a relationship with a young boy and his 'responsibility' to the kid, so you're led to believe that there is more to this man than you can see. COME ON! The Diamond-in-the-rough guy is all played out. There is something to be said for seeing the true person, but this is so far from that. The guy likes who he is. He hides the responsibility as if it is a weakness, or something of less value.
3) The Guy helps the Crazy lady catch a Man by playing all sorts of mind games.
This is the worst part of the romantic comedy for me.
Just so we're clear. I think relationships that come about by manipulation of the things you think will titillate your partner and obfuscation of who you really are, so that only the characteristics and traits he/she would like appear, for the sake of securing him/her are wasted time.
I will never play games with someones affection, and I would walk away from anyone who does. It isn't romantic to me. It isn't funny. It's cruel, and it will never build a relationship that lasts. It ends. Always. Either in an apology (if you have some character) or just walking away after you've taken what you wanted (as witnessed by the main guy's answering machine messages in this movie).
What makes it even more frustrating for me is that I frequently work with teen girls who have seen this over and over and think that this is the way they're supposed to behave, or the behavior they're supposed to put up with. They just get their hearts crushed in the process.
As you may have guessed I thought this movie was Drivel, plain and simple. I just want to be able to watch one romantic comedy that doesn't make me want to curse. They're just not funny. They're just cruel and callous. I think I need to watch Wall-e to cleanse my palate. At least robot's understand :)
Can I rate a movie with negative stars?
a) and sometimes they are just absolutely ridiculous ideals, I'll grant you that. They're so over the top. Tolstoy reading, Austen loving, long walks on the beach, love all animals but cats the best, etc.
b) guys are not men. Guys are men in age only. They live life as one big game, enjoying all they can get, never taking responsibility, expecting the world to revolve around them, consequences be dammed, etc.
I'm taking this week's topic from Darren Rowe's weekly newsletter. My rules are a little different. Since we are getting into the busy time of the year...Holiday Season...you can use old photos or take new ones. Take some photos of your pets, your neighbor's pets, your parent's pets, the school pets, or neighborhood pets. Here is a link to Dareen's article on taking photos of pets http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-pets.
Have some fun and dress up your pet or take a photo of a pet in an unusual place. You can use photoshop to change the photo background or change the shape or position of the pet. You can clone your pet or pets....anything goes this week...show me your creativity!
Boy we had a great turnout for the #78 Photo Quest on Diagonal Lines. Thanks to Cap'n Stephel, Darcy, Yancunyong, Trailblazer, anthrogrrl, Maju and Spike for some really amazing photos! I'm not sure the Trailblazer wanted in but I'm including her.
For each person that posts to the quest I pick the one photo that I liked the best and that fit the Photo Quest the best. Just because I pick one photo does not mean I dislike the others! It isn't easy to pick one from each participant as the photos are so good!
I'm going to start with Spike as she was the first to post for this week's quest. My favorite was the "Steve at the Reaper Miniatures factory looking like the kid in a candy store", photo. Look at how all the toys on the wall form long, multiple lines drawing your eye right to Steve. I also like the texture created by the toys and the fun way she used diagonal lines in the photo great job Spike!
Maju just took my breath away with her photo of Regent's Canal 02! This is a BIG WOW photo! Notice how the walkway, the trees, the reflection in the water pulls your eye right to the bridge. The composition on this photo is wonderful with the bridge right at the ROT point! In this photo even the light areas with no details, water without reflections and the sky pull your eye to the bridge. Wonderful work Maju!!
Next was Antrogrrl and what a nice surprise that we get to see some of her "old archaeology photos for this challenge." You made it hard for me to choose one photo as you had so many great ones this week. I have to say I liked 2 snow tracks the best. The tracks in the snow, the diagonal line of the plants, the mountains and the sky push your eye right to the furtherest point. The angle of the photo and the diagonal lines give the photo a feeling of a never ending landscape. The tracks in the snow tell the viewer the snow is fresh and the people in the vehicle where the first to see this landscape. This photo tells a great story, super photo Antrogrrl!
Trailblazer posted two interesting photos to the Photo Quest Group. My favorite was the first photo Ink-and-surf-jpg. There are several diagonal lines in this photo. The surfers arms, legs, the surf board and the surf all provide great diagonal lines. I really liked the way we have two diagonal lines coming together with the surfer in the forground arms, forming one diagonal line and the surf board forming the opposite diagonal line. The intersection of these lines draw your eye right to that point. Nice capture Trailblazer!
Yan's many wonderful photo all with great examples of diagonal lines really caused me to stop and consider all the photos before I made my selection. I really have to pick Photographers @Mt. Gomadan as I loved all the photographers lined up with their tripods to take photos of the fall colors. This is a very fun photo full of color and lots of interest in what the photographers are doing and thinking about how each one is taking their photos. Great photo Yan!
I pick Darcy's photo of her son playing the in water sprinkler as my favorite. What a fun photo. It makes me want to run in a sprinker too. Here Darcy has framed her son with the diagonal lines of the sprinkler on either side. This was a hard shot to get as she has the camera shutter slow enough to capture the sprinkler water in drops and the camera set fast enough to get a very clear shot of her son. This is another photo that tells a story of Darcy's son enjoying his summer. Love this one Darcy!
Last but not least are the photos from Cap'n Stephel. Her photos are always full of personality. You got to look at the snowman in the pumpkin patch! The photo I liked best from her post is the first one of the trail. The fence and the shadow of the fence give the photo a great sense of depth, distance and mystery. She didn't tell us the whole story here as we can't see the end of the trail...we keep looking be we can't see that far as the trees cover our view. Very nice photo Cap'n!
After 34 years of marriage, my parents got divorced today. It took them a year and a half to get to the point where they could stand in front of a judge to tell them their marriage was over. Furniture has been divided. The house is being sold. And signatures are on the dotted line. It seems silly to me that these are the things to fight over. Furniture. A couch. An end table. That picture hanging in the hallway. After 34 years, these are the things worth arguing over, worth fighting furiously for.
For the record, my father's favorite expression while driving when I was a kid: Get the fuck out of the way, NumNuts!
(I love the package design though.)
