My Short Life (so far) as a Librarian

...or "Keys, Lasers, and Fifth Graders."

I usually avoid personal posts on this blog, or should I say I try to avoid making posts simply about experiences in my life.  This is a change from olden days, but that's a choice I made.  Boring as it may be...  But in this case, I know my experiences of the week (and most particularly of today) would be of interest to some of the followers of this blog, and have decided to write a quick entry on the subject.

I must confess, I have always loved libraries.  Actually, I love anyplace where there are a large collection of books, whether that be a book store, a library, an archive, a repository...  ok, I'm just pulling words out now, as I can only think of two places I have commonly been where there were a large amount of books.  Book stores and libraries.  But I do love them both.

And so it may be no surprise that I would jump at the chance to become a librarian - err, excuse me, a library staff assistant - at a local elementary school.  Wait, did he just say elementary school?  Yes indeed.  I have aspired to be a secondary or higher-level educator, but the opportunity to take a part time position with an elementary school came available, and I jumped at it.  Beggars can't be choosers, after all.

And this week I began my new job.  It has been an interesting, and in some way exhausting, but thoroughly satisfying week.

"Mark my words, some day they will have books on zombies and nerdy kids who fight them in our public school libraries, Vivian."  I actually saw one book today come through circulation that wasn't "pop" kid fiction.  But hey, at least they are reading!  Oh, and for the sake of argument, Google "school librarian" and look through the images that come up.  If you spot a male librarian in the first fifty pictures, you've got better eyes than I do. / Source: FlavorWire.com

Book Review: Animal Farm

The review I promised in my last entry?  Well here it is.  This one has been sitting in my notes file for quite awhile.  And in almost 100% complete form too.  What does that say about my commitment level?  You figure it out, either way.

Oh, and as a side note, I received my diploma for my bachelors degree in the mail yesterday.  Or as I like to call it, my receipt for aprox $20,000 worth of education.  Boy, I should be a bright guy now.  One can only wonder...

Source: Amazon.com

Animal Farm, by George Orwell

From the book’s cover:

This is a classic tale of humanity awash in totalitarianism. A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. First published during the epoch of Stalinist Russia, today it is clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, and under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of Orwell's masterpiece is a message still ferociously fresh.

Bet you were thinking...

...now why don't he write?  Stole and paraphrased that from the film: Dances With Wolves.  Yes, creativity on my part has been in short supply lately.  In fact, I had a hard time even remembering what my login was for this blog.

Unfortunately, this post will not be a great representation of my creative works either.  I guess I'm leaving an entry here just to see if I still remember how.

A small, semi-personal update on my life might be in order.  I finished college in late August.  I made it through a quite arduous math course, got my worst grade of my college career (a C+), and have been in a holding pattern ever since.  I think I may be mid-life crisis-ing, but the good thing about those is that they can only last just so long.  After all, I'll only be "mid-life" for just so long.

No, I'm not going to expound on my troubles, so don't worry.  I just need to get a better job and, in the process, get my head right.  But I am working on it.  And having faith.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post a quick Thoughts.  It has been so long since I typed anything other than a resume or filled in a job application, I figured I ought to try it out and see if I still remembered how to use the keyboard for other things.

Plasmapheresis Thoughts from the White Board - May 29

That's a fancy word for donating plasma, or something like that.  My lifetime record for doing so is now three times.  By the time you read this post, it may be four.  I am debating about going again this morning.

It's been interesting so far.  My first time was not so great.  The long wait and the same dumb questions over and over were bad enough, but no worse than some doctor office visits I've had.  The bad part was that I had it in my head that donating plasma was like going to a doctor's office to do blood work - i.e.: no eating beforehand.  So on my first visit, they sent me out to eat something, as I hadn't had food since I'd gotten home the night before from work.

Well, I went and had an apple and a granola bar of some sort, but it wasn't enough.  I got very light-headed and almost passed out after a couple of cycles of my blood went through the machine.  They said I turned white as a sheet.  I felt it.  The experience was not one I'd willingly repeat.

The second visit went better, but I still got pretty drained (no pun intended).  By the end, I felt really washed out.  Thankfully, they'd run the machine at a slower pace than usual.  It helped me not to feel quite so queasy.

You know, it's surprisingly difficult to find humorous images of plasma donation.  So I went with this one, which isn't all that funny after I got the idea of a mosquito sitting on my exposed arm, sucking the red stuff out of my tender flesh...  Full body creep, that does. / Source: WellSphere.com

Movie Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness

Saw my first summer movie today.  Thought I'd do a review.

Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013)



Right off the bat, let's clear up a few things.  First, I don't consider myself to be a "Trekkie."  When I explain, some of you may say I still qualify.  Just the same, I don't claim the title.

If you say a "Trekkie" is a fan of Star Trek in its various iterations, then I do qualify in most respects.  I remember watching the original series on Saturday afternoons as a kid.  Of course, it was far into re-runs by then (this was the mid 80s), and looked its age even then.

I was later a devoted viewer of Star Trek - The Next Generation.  I still enjoy an episode of that one if I caught it on TV, but they've been out of re-runs for some time in my area.  And not too many years back, I watched the entire series via the "library of the Internet," as I like to term it.  No, I won't be explaining myself further on that turn of phrase, as I don't wish to be construed as advocating piracy.  Let's just say that I think shows that I could have recorded via VHS and watched later are not off limits from re-watching via... other channels.  But if I had money, I'd buy the box set of "TNG," as it is called.  But only if I had plenty of money and all my other needs were getting covered (food, gas, house, etc...).

Book Review: A History of the Middle East

Been neglecting the blog for awhile now.  As the weather warms and - especially - since school is mostly out (I have one math class that isn't too taxing, even though it is still -shudder- math), my mind has been wandering to other areas and leaving much undone.  I have a whole stack of reviews of books (and movies) I haven't been progressing on.  But since the demand for them isn't high, and since most of the comments I receive lately are spam from folks who, if they are reading my blog, certainly aren't giving much of an accurate representation of it in their comments, I suppose my tardiness is not too big a deal.

On the home front, as I write this particular passage of my introduction to this review, I am listening to the purring of a little orange kitten.  My wife practically begged me a couple of days back to let her get a small orange kitten from one of my cousins who had placed it on Facebook as being open to adoption.

Now I'm not crazy about adding "another pathetic life form" (to quote one of the few good lines from The Phantom Menace) to our menagerie.  But my dear wife pinky swore that this would be the last time she'd ask for a good long while.  And she misses having a cat.  To be honest, I miss her cat George too.

So I reluctantly agreed to allow the cat into our home (such as it is, for now).  And things have gone fairly well, so far.  But now my wife has gone over to school, and I am just waiting for my lunch to cool off before eating.  And the kitten sits next to me, purring away.  I hope contentedly.  The sound is pleasing to me, at least.

Well, I gotta have a bite and then go up to the plasma donation center.  Yeah, I do that now.  There's a whole story from my first visit.  Ask me and I might tell you about it.  But for no, I am off.  The review, which I jotted down my notes for a week or so back, follows below.

Thanks for reading!

Source: Amazon.com

A History of the Middle East, by Peter Mansfield, with Nicolas Pelham

From the book’s cover:

Over the centuries, the Middle East has confounded the dreams of conquerors and peacemakers alike. In this classic work, Peter Mansfield follows the historic struggle of the region over the last two hundred years. This new edition updates recent developments in the Middle East, including the turbulent events in Afghanistan, the troubled relationship between the U.S. and Iraq, the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict, and the rise of Islamic Jihad.


Incisive and illuminating, A History of the Middle East is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand what is perhaps the most crucial and volatile nerve center of the modern world.

Walpurgisnacht Thoughts from the White Board - May 1

Only six months until Halloween!

No, seriously, May 1 has great symbolism and history to many cultures throughout the world. It all started thousands of years ago with some pagans...  blah, blah, blah.

Summer Movies I Hope Don't Suck - 2013

I'm going to try and keep this to just one post this time, unlike last year's two-parter.  It'll be tough, as there are a lot of films coming up this summer that could be said to qualify as "summer movies."  Heck, there were a few things I skipped that might have squeaked in if it was a slow year, like Hangover 3 (not even remotely interested), Kick-Ass 2 (ditto) or Tyler Perry Presents Peeples (Hmmm... I don't even know what to do with that). 

And then, of course, there are the animated films, which more and more fit the idea of a "summer movie," but which I have so far excluded from this summer preview series.  To be honest, this may have to change in the future.  For one thing, if Despicable Me 2 is anywhere near as good as the first one (doubtful, given the sequel curse), it will be one of the better flicks coming in the hot months ahead.

Movie Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Another movie review in such quick succession, you ask?  Yes, I thought I'd get this one out there fairly quick.  If I'm lucky, this is a sign that the end of spring 2013 semester is showing a sign of a return to normalcy around this blog.  I wish I could say the same for life at Casa-de-Wong, but that is a different story.  Ask me about it, and I'll tell you sometime.


The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)



A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on an "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug. Short synopsis of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey taken from IMDB.com  

I dragged my heels a bit when it comes to this movie. I must confess, part of it was because I did see some of the film online while it was still in the theaters. Funny story: one night, I happened to flip on the TV and was scanning the channels when I came upon an old show I hadn't seen in years. I don't even recall what show it was. Well when the advertisements came on, there was one for this USB thing-a-ma-bob that you plug into your computer and it gets you like, I don't know, 50,000 TV channels via the internet. All for just $14.95! What a steal, I thought.

Movie Review: Oz, the Great and Powerful

Here's that review of the last date night flick my wife and I caught at the local SuperUltraMegaplex-o-matic.

Oz, The Great and Powerful (2013)



A small-time magician is swept away to an enchanted land and is forced into a power struggle between three witches. Short synopsis of Oz the Great and Powerful taken from IMDb.com  

What can I say?  I suppose I liked Oz, The Great and Powerful well enough, but at the same time, it was kinda clunky. 

By way of explanation, I am, as an adult, definitely not a rabid fan of The Wizard of Oz (of the Judy Garland stable, nor have I read the books, which I am told are far superior to the movies), but I did like Oz well enough as a kid.  Heck, even today if it is on the TV, I will sit and watch a minute or two without getting up and walking away with a feeling that my time was wasted. It's an "old" movie, but the mechanics employed just scream "BIG SHOW." And yet it feels so solid.  Oz, The Great and Powerful just did not. 

With this prequel, what we as an audience get is a film that seems to be playing for dollar signs in a most unashamed way. Yes, there are the little touches that come from the books (my wife pointed out a couple) and The Wizard of Oz movie, but they seem thrown together in a rather haphazard way.

Envisaged Thoughts from the White Board - April 22

"Envisaged" - as in dreamt up.  I had an interesting (and for once, lately, not disturbing) dream this morning.

Of course, dreams are fleeting, so I can't recall all of it.  From the earliest part I can recall, I was in the church foyer of the building I attended services in while growing up.  But in the dream it wasn't a church, but more like a school.  And of course, as always, the architecture was not spot on.  It is rare in my dreams that anything is exact.  My head pulls different things together, some real, some only imagined.

In this foyer, there were lots of people.  And I was trying to get through the crowd to a class or a meeting or something.  But along the way,  I met a friend (nobody I know in real life) who was in the air force.  He stopped me and we chatted.  He said he and a friend who could get me into the room where the air force pilot simulator was.  I was excited, because I was tired from my everyday chores of life and wanted some excitement.  Yes, gentle reader, I know exactly where some parts of this dream came from.

Anyway, he and I went into what would be the office parts of the church, right off the foyer.  I think we were in there for a little while, just chatting.  Then his other friend arrived, and this new guy took me to a small storage room in an entirely different building.  It was supposed to be behind the church.  And inside this room was a small CRT screen hooked up to a cord that came out of a rather puny looking computer.  I thought to myself that this couldn't be the flight simulator I had heard such great things about and therefore was so anxious to try a hand at.  No way.

The F-16 is the military aircraft I have probably seen most in real life.  I grew up within sight of the outbound flight path of the local air base.  But it isn't my favorite plane.  That'd be the F-14 Tomcat. / Source: asian-wallpapers-pk.blogspot.com

But yes, it was.  I sat down, and he left the room and then a moment later, the machine started up.  It seemed kind of primitive at first, but when I started manipulating the keyboard, the experience seemed - in my dream - to get better.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

Math 1010 Final (third attempt) = 80%

That's passing, and for a fool like me, it's the best I can ask for.  Given the circumstances, that is.

In a situation like this, I wish I had a shirt like the one in the following video clip:

,,,

Yup.  I'd be blasting the Imperial March too, right now.  I too am feeling awesome, and to be feared.  By math problems, that is.

Movie Review: Les Misérables

Finally, the review I've been putting off for a couple of months.  And just in time for the film to have come out on DVD!

Les Misérables (2012)



In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever. Short synopsis of Les Misérables taken from IMDb.com 

Before I get into this review, let me say that this will neither be a gushing love-fest or a lament on how lame the film was. I fall into the middle here. I'll explain, and I'll do it the way I see it. I should note that I take a good deal of my inspiration from a Facebook post from one of my wife's friend's husband (or is it husband's? - that much plural possessive in a row almost makes it sound like polygamy and I ain't going there!) So my style in description gets credited to him, though I couldn't find the post when I was writing this review up in note form, so that I could cite him (not even a name). Sorry man, but I send you a virtual thumbs up just the same.

Bibliophiliac Thoughts from the White Board - March 23

The Bibliophiliac part is because A.) I read a lot of books, as anyone who peruses this blog on a regular basis can see, and B.) I had a weird craving on this breezy March afternoon to go to the local public library.  Not for anything in particular, mind you.  Just to walk the stacks and browse.  For fun.  I like the smell of books.  Have since I was a kid.  Dragged through too many libraries as a child, I guess.  And back then, I didn't read the books I leafed through unless there was a cool picture on the cover.  That and I only read the end, so I'd see how the book turned out.  A good ending has always been somewhat significant to me, even if I had almost no clue as to who these people were or why they did what they did.

Anyway...  Wow, where has the month of March gone?  Seems like only yesterday I was enjoying birthday celebrations and proudly wearing my new shirt.

Yup, I finally got it.  Thanks to my hunie for that. / Source: eBay

Or my other new T-shirt.

Yeah, I saw Sheldon wear one on an episode of The Big Bang Theory and decided it was cool.  Thanks to my mom for this birthday gift. / Source: eBay

Op/Ed: Corruption in High Places?

I've been working in my spare time on a post I did notes for back in January (it was the first of the bunch that have languished in my notes file since starting Weber's overly arduous remedial math class) which is a review of the film Les Misérables.  But something caught my attention today as I was checking my email, and I decided on the spur of the moment to address it here.

Today I received a forwarded email with the following text,

The 28th Amendment, 35 States and Counting It will take you less than a minute to read this. If you agree, please pass it on. It's an idea whose time has come. Members of Congress can retire at full pay after only one term. Members of Congress have exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed, under which ordinary citizens must live. For example, they are exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment. And as the latest example, they have exempted themselves from Healthcare Reform, in all of its aspects. We must not tolerate an elite class of such people, elected as public servants and then putting themselves above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent, or whatever. The self-serving must stop. Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon their states. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention. If each person that receives this will forward it on to 20 people, in three days most people in The United States of America will have the message. 

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States”. You are one of my 20.

(Here is a version of this email, available online)

There's a U.S. flag behind it, so it must be a good thing, yes? / Source: selfreliantnetwork11.blogspot.com

Book Review: The Long Walk

My last review that was in any condition to publish.  This was one of the last books I got through before the semester began, early this year.  I have read plenty of stuff since then, and have notes for future posts, but it is all rough and quite unready to go.  But as I've been on a bit of a roll lately, I thought I'd publish this one and then try to get back to focusing on my math homework. 

It feels like this semester will never end...

Source: Amazon.com

The Long Walk, by Richard Bachman

From the book’s cover:

On the first day of May, one hundred teenage boys meet for an event known throughout the country as "The Long Walk," a deadly contest of endurance and determination, where each step could literally be their last.

Book Review: Red Phoenix

I had an anxiety dream this morning (I guess as of publishing this, it would be yesterday morning now) just before waking.  In the dream I had gotten a job at my old employer, and I drove there to start work.  When I arrived, I had a hard time making my way through the plant, as the building had been modified from what I recall it being like (this is typical in my dreams, with their surrealistic architecture that I'd get a kick out of if it all didn't make me uneasy sometimes).  When I found my boss (my old boss in real life, that is), he started out by sarcastically praising me and then switched up unexpectedly and began harshly berated me for being several hours late to work - on my first day!  I didn't realize it was that late, I tried to protest, and I had arrived there on time in the plant.  It was to no avail, and I felt humiliated and distressed.  I woke up and was glad I had nothing more pressing than an algebra quiz waiting for me at the college to go work on.  Math is nothing compared to a bad anxiety dream.

And so in that vein, I now complete a fluffy review I have had in storage since late December.  Some candy for the brain is what I could use right now, personally.

Oh, and please note: there is an author listed on Amazon.com (and elsewhere, I'm sure) who goes by the moniker of "Red Phoenix," and writes "romance" novels (I use quote marks for romance as I have a somewhat dim view of the genre, as a general rule).  This review has nothing to do with that author or subject.  Just a touch of clarification.

Source: Amazon.com

Red Phoenix, by Larry Bond 

From the book’s cover:

Violent riots formented by foreign agents are breaking out in South Korea. Seizing the opportunity, North Korea launches a lightning invasion, with heavy Soviet support, whose aim is to unite North and South under Communist rule. The second Korean War has begun and World War III may be imminent.

(Note: the cover image used is the version I had when I owned a copy of the paperback back in the mid-1990's, and this is why I chose it instead of the more updated cover version)

Retrieving Thoughts from the White Board - March 8

As in Golden Retriever.  On the afternoon last as I betook myself to endeavor upon my mathematics studies (been reading The Monk, by Matthew Gregory Lewis, thus the long-winded superciliousness - interesting stuff in this book, by the way), I got a call from my wife saying that she had been at the gas station and noticed a very pregnant and relatively "small" golden retriever wandering about.  She made inquiries and was told that it had been hanging around for a couple days and looked to be abandoned.  So instead of feeling sad for the poor animal and then driving away, she decided to bring it home.

I don't know.  I guess in her shoes (that'd be a sight!), I might have wanted to do something for the poor creature too.  The dog is, as I said, very pregnant, but also quite sweet.  She seems to have been in fights in the past, as her face has some small scarring.  She is likewise a bit timid, but just the same not overly skittish toward people.  And our dog Sadie took right to her, which is odd (and somewhat disquieting to me, due to previous circumstances in which Sadie freaked out at other large dogs she has been paired up with around our house for short periods).

Just the same, I hope and pray that this sad dog's owner simply has lost track of her, and she will be quickly returned to her rightful home.  My wife and daughter have aspirations of keeping her.  I was unable to adequately convince them in the short time I had for rebuttal that this dog will be hungry and we are hard enough off feeding ourselves right now.  Plus it, as a living animal, is just one more point of responsibility around the home.  And all this before the puppies that will inevitably come are factored in. 

 Anyway, we'll see how things go for the next few days.  It is stuff like this that makes a man just shake his head.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will. - George Bernard Shaw

Dreams are more real than reality itself, they're closer to the self. - Gao Xingjian

Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please. - Mark Twain

That all men are equal is a proposition which, at ordinary times, no sane individual has ever given his assent. - Aldous Huxley  

Book Review: To Hell and Back: The Banned Account of Gallipoli

Two posts back to back.  Am I reviving my flagging activity on the blog, you ask?  Only somewhat.  As I said, I read a lot of stuff back during winter break, and wrote up reviews that were nearly ready to publish when spring semester started.  The one below is an example of that.

Source: Amazon.com

To Hell and Back: The Banned Account of Gallipoli, by Sydney Loch, with Susanna and Jake De Vries

From the book’s cover:

As a young soldier in the battlefields of Gallipoli Sydney Loch witnessed the horror of war first-hand. On his return to Australia he detailed what he saw in his book The Straits Impregnable. Hoping to avoid military censorship his publishers dubbed Sydney's book a novel. But as the war ground on and the numbers of casualties grew the publisher inserted a note saying the story was factual. The book which had enjoyed huge literary acclaim was immediately withdrawn from sale by the censors.

Movie Review: Frankenweenie

I haven't written in some time, but as I alluded to, I have had some reviews sitting around that only needed a little work to get finished and submitted.  I decided this past evening, after looking through the online listings for job leads, to polish this one off and submit it.  Of course, I can't attach the video links while at work, so this won't get submitted until around 4 AM or so (when I get off work), but I think I'll drop it in, just to show I haven't completely disappeared from the scene.

...And then I forgot, and didn't post until the next evening.  Hmmm...

Life has been hectic, and math keeps me busy.  But with this being Spring Break week, I am going to do my best to cram through a section and get ahead.  Finally.  Here's hoping the work is enough.  My plan is to take the class's final exam by the end of March.  That way, even if I fail it the first attempt, I'm far enough ahead that it won't kill me.  And then I can finish the darn class off early and relax a little before I take my summer class (fingers crossed) and get done with school.  I won't be able to graduate this semester as planned.  I'm just not good enough at Algebra.  It's like teaching a parrot to sing opera.  You can do it, but the work is hard, and the results leave something to be desired for aesthetic quality.  But yeah, it can do it.  I can do math, but it ain't a pretty picture.

Anyway, here's that review.  And here's hoping you are well.

Frankenweenie (2012)

Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences. Short synopsis of Frankenweenie taken from IMDb.com

The Good News...

...is that I'm finally starting to get the hang of this math stuff.  I'm taking Weber State's much derided Math 1010 class this semester, and it's been a real uphill slog, but I'm doing better than I was that first month or so.  At least I am right now.  One can only hope that trend keeps on giving.

The bad news is, it has been a lot of work and has kept me busy.  In those first few weeks, I ate, slept, went to work, and did math.  It felt like I was starting to become a walking calculator, but one with a few broken buttons!

I'm old enough to remember calculators that actually looked like this.  Now-a-days they're either scientific-dealies (like my calculator I had to buy back when I thought I could become a Pharmacist - Ha!), or they are all on people's cell phones.  Do they even make regular pocket calculators anymore? / Source: public.merlin.swgfl.org.uk

The worse news is (and you probably guessed it already, seeing the lack of updates for awhile), I'm going to have to put/keep this blog back in the freezer for awhile.  Maybe the semester will just get easier and life will return to semi-normal, but I refuse to get lax and somehow join the legion of students at Weber State who end up taking the course two or more times.  Math 1010, according to numerous sources I've spoken to, is the most failed class on campus.  It's also a money-making scheme too, according to some people, but since I don't have time to do good investigative journalism on the topic, I'll have to leave that in the "strong rumor" pile for now.

Anyway, I do have posts sitting almost complete in the cue, and if I have time (strong "if") I might still publish every now and then.  But don't expect anything near as regular as I was doing before the Christmas holiday break. At least not until until summer break.

And as always, thanks for your patronage.

When presented with an algebraic equation, I'm the guy who is foolish enough to say: "Yes, but how do you use this in real life?"  Then somebody whips out a story problem, and I wish I'd kept my dang mouth shut. / Source: www.missourieducationwatchdog.com

Book Review: On The Road

Yes, I know I recently alluded to a review of Les Misérables (which my wife went to see together around a week ago), but I haven't quite had time to polish my notes into a final draft yet.  Sorry.  So you are stuck with this review of On The Road.

Oh, and did you notice all the snow?  I love how pretty the world gets under a blanket of the stuff.  Not so crazy about people who don't know how to drive in it. 

Source: Amazon.com

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

From the book’s cover:

On the Road chronicles Jack Kerouac's years traveling the North American continent with his friend Neal Cassady, "a sideburned hero of the snowy West." As "Sal Paradise" and "Dean Moriarty," the two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz combine to make On the Road an inspirational work of lasting importance.

Kerouac's classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be "Beat" and has inspired every generation since its initial publication more than forty years ago.

Book Review: Paul Is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion

I'm afraid that I'm the one who feels like a zombie as I sit here doing the prep work to finish off this blog post and publish to the greater World Wide Web.  I could say it has something to do with the book being reviewed below, but to be honest, I wrote this review nearly a month ago, and was simply waiting to post until I was off the holiday break in December.  No, the problem is more localized than just a rather... ahem... obtuse book.  More like my battery is run low right now.

Still looking for either part-time day work to supplement my night job, or in lieu of that, full-time daytime work that pays well enough to replace what I have now.  Money is still incredibly tight, but we're hanging in there. 

Played checkers with my six-year old for the first time on Thursday afternoon.  She won the first game by a close margin, but I mauled her for the second.  And then she wanted to play a Barbie matching game.  Good fun, overall.

And hey - now it's Friday!  That's always a good thing.  Hope your day is going well.

Source: Amazon.com

Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion, by Alan Goldsher

From the book’s cover:

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME TO REALLY MEET THE BEATLES.

For John Lennon, a young, idealistic zombie guitarist with dreams of global domination, Liverpool seems the ideal place to form a band that could take over the world. In an inspired act, Lennon kills and reanimates local rocker Paul McCartney, kicking off an unstoppable partnership. With the addition of newly zombified guitarist George Harrison and drummer/Seventh Level Ninja Lord Ringo Starr, the Beatles soon cut a swath of bloody good music and bloody violent mayhem across Europe, America, and the entire planet.

In this searing oral history, discover how the Fab Four climbed to the Toppermost of the Poppermost while stealing the hearts, ears, and brains of smitten teenage girls. Learn the tale behind a spiritual journey that resulted in the dismemberment of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Marvel at the seemingly indestructible quartet’s survival of a fierce attack by Eighth Level Ninja Lord Yoko Ono. And find out how the boys escaped eternal death at the hands of England’s greatest zombie hunter, Mick Jagger.

Through all this, one mystery remains: Can the Beatles sublimate their hunger for gray matter, remain on top of the charts, and stay together for all eternity? After all, three of the Fab Four are zombies, and zombies live forever. . .

Book Review: Gone With The Wind

It's officially 2013, so I can start writing in earnest again.  Then again, we'll see how busy school and a second job (or a full time position, depending on what comes my way) and the rest makes life.  Luckily for you (the ever-diligent reader that you are, that is), I have some backlog of reviews to post over the coming weeks.  Even some stuff that I was reading back at the end of Fall 2012 semester and postponed so I could take a break over the winter holidays.  Such as the review below.

Enjoy.

Source: Amazon.com

Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell

From the book’s cover:

Margaret Mitchell's epic novel of love and war won the Pulitzer Prize and went on to give rise to two authorized sequels and one of the most popular and celebrated movies of all time.

Many novels have been written about the Civil War and its aftermath. None take us into the burning fields and cities of the American South as Gone With the Wind does, creating haunting scenes and thrilling portraits of characters so vivid that we remember their words and feel their fear and hunger for the rest of our lives.

In the two main characters, the white-shouldered, irresistible Scarlett and the flashy, contemptuous Rhett, Margaret Mitchell not only conveyed a timeless story of survival under the harshest of circumstances, she also created two of the most famous lovers in the English-speaking world since Romeo and Juliet.