| Book 68: War Dances by Sherman Alexie |
[29 Nov 2009|09:03am] |
Title: War Dances
Author: Sherman Alexie
Number of Pages: 256 pages
Book Number/Goal: 68/75 for 2009
My Rating: 2.5/5
This is a collection of short stories and poems linked mainly by the fact that they're about whiny guys. I don't know. I did like a couple of the stories (especially the last one, Salt, and the title story), but the ones that left a bad taste in my mouth really left a bad taste in my mouth and kind of overpower all the rest. The Ballad of Paul Nonetheless was just gross, and I get that he was supposed to be a gross asshat guy, but I don't really need to read a story about a guy who's just wallowing in his assholishness while going "wah, wah, poor me", you know? I could go anywhere on the internet and find a million of them.
Added to that the fact that I'm not a big fan of poetry and these poems didn't do anything to change my mind, and that the writing itself wasn't that great, this was just really not the book for me. I'm glad this wasn't the first thing of his I ever read, otherwise I'd probably write him off and never read anything of his again.
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| Daily Happiness |
[28 Nov 2009|10:47pm] |
Erin's sister got an earlier flight, so she was back over here by like 4.30, instead of between 8 and 9 like she'd planned. :D
We then went to Target (she rented a car for the rest of the time she's here, whee!), since she wanted to get some presents to take to her goddaughter tomorrow, and I found Tim Tams (at a cheaper price than the grocery store!) and a cute green and blue striped shirt.
Then we had a delicious dinner of grilled tri-tip and cheesy potatoes with leeks and bacon, with pumpkin pie for dessert. Om nom nom!
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| stove shopping |
[28 Nov 2009|09:05pm] |
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we decided to replace our stove...but soon found that finding an ADA Compliant (disability accessible) free standing stove in our price range was not doable. Actually the disability access requirement was so basic we were surprised we couldn't find it: we needed the oven controls on the front of the stove not on the back. from there, we needed it to be a freestanding gas range. it needed a glass window so I could look inside without opening the door. and it needed to have burners that were closed so food would not fall into the flames.
slide in stoves have all the controls on the front but no backsplash. Our stove is freestanding so it needs built-in a backsplash/rim (as well as side panels - most slide in stoves don't offer these as optional add-ons). This put us in the price range of real cheap stoves (no glass doors with open burners and doors with flimsy knobs) and the real expensive stoves. in the end it came down to 4 models and 4 models only. I ended selecting the higher end one because it had continuous grate burners (across the entire top of the stove) which meant I could slide the pots on and off the burners while seated in a wheelchair.
And all the while I kept thinking... I don't really need an accessible stove - it's not like I am in a wheelchair every day. before the practical side reminded me: yet. your hip went out earlier in the year.
We did consider repairing but I already was having problems with some of the broken controls on the old stove and it was impossible to clean and for a while the only setting it had was 'Scorch!!". The broken igniter just pushed it over the edge.
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| Friday, November 27, 2009 |
[28 Nov 2009|02:24am] |
- recessional: Plagues in your Postapocalypse: - Disease is a huge part of any landscape except maybe our own. Disease in a landscape that used to look like our own should be even more shocking. -
- thelana: The Genius Wranglers: A Rant - Personally, I think the appeal of those relationships has very little to do with people yearning for an old fashioned woman supporting superior (genius!) man dynamic or people getting stuck on some Oedipal trope. I think it comes more from the side effects of the trope. The typical Wrangler personality, especially of this chiding mother sorts means that they are being cast with motivations other than just looking for hotness. -
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| Daily Happiness |
[27 Nov 2009|10:56pm] |
1. I got my new sweatshirt in the mail today! It's the same one Carla got a week or so ago, but in olive green instead of navy blue. I love it so! My old sweatshirt was...not exactly something I would choose myself (had a big picture of wolves on it and said Alaska; I think it was given to us by Carla's aunt when they went on a trip there), plus it was worn thin in many places and the cuffs were pretty much shredded. Also it was a pullover, which is fine for in the house, but as a jacket to wear out, I'd rather have a zip-up sweatshirt.
2. We bought a new sofa! Earlier in the week we got a flier from Easy Life, which had an advertisement for a $599 sofa with free loveseat or recliner and we both liked the idea. The sofa reclines on both ends, plus the centre folds down to be a little table with built-in cup holders!
At first we'd been thinking about getting the recliner to go with it, since that's what would fit better in our living room, but the recliner turned out to be a rocker recliner, which I do not like, plus the hand pull on the side felt really cheap. So we're now not sure exactly where the loveseat will go, but we'll find a place for it somewhere, either in the living room or maybe here in the computer room.
I am all O_o over the fact that we have bought furniture. It's so grown up! We did buy a bed years ago when we got married, but that is the only furniture we've bought, new or used. Everything else was already in the house or hand-me-down from relatives. (Oh, and we got a coffee table from Carla's folks for Christmas a couple years ago.) Well, we did buy the three computer desks we have, and the CD shelves, but those don't feel like real furniture in quite the same way, you know? They're not a sofa!
Anyway, they were out of stock at that location, so it has to be ordered and will be delivered around the 8th.
3. They had Tim Tams at the grocery store! FINALLY! I have been hearing now for a year or more that Pepperidge Farm sells Tim Tams here, but I never saw them anywhere. I was kind of disappointed in the price, though. On sale for $3.50, regular price $3.99. I'm not sure how much they are at Cost Plus, but it's not that much more expensive. I was hoping these would be a little cheaper. I did buy a pack, but even the sale price is out of my price range except for very special occasions (like finding them for the first time ever).
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| sort of a kink poll... |
[28 Nov 2009|03:05am] |
I've been reading a slash story in which a heated argument between the couple (who are also friends) results in punch being thrown, and then the one punched actually finds the aggression a turn on and it goes on to sex. Somehow this combination of sex and violence doesn't work for me at all, not even in fiction, where I'm not averse to combinations of sex and violence.
Like, I can go along fine if the aggression is against some kind of third party, and one character is turned on by the other being violent, or they are turned on mutually, say if they are both in a barfight or even slaughter others. I can also go along with non-con that involves violence with the victim not being turned on, but I as a reader like it. But if the violence is between the couple (and they are supposed to like each other), uncontrolled violence segueing into sex (rather than say rough sex that is mutually agreed upon) is squicky for me, more so if the violence is not mutual (the latter would be more fighting leading to fucking in some kind of hate sex, which I also don't like, but it is not as bad as one sided violence).
Most often this is shown from the POV of the character the aggression is turned upon rather than the violent character being turned on by the escalation, i.e. A hits B, usually after some provocation, then B somehow finds that aggression/violence (or sometimes the loss of control) hot, and sex follows. I have to admit that I find this particular combination of sex and violence to be surprising as a kink, and it always startles me, but I see this every now and then, and I'm wondering whether it is something that many people like in sex scenes.
So, a poll:
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| Reminder: Black Friday Sale |
[27 Nov 2009|08:54pm] |
ETA: and it's over!
( Old text )
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| Daily Happiness |
[26 Nov 2009|09:44pm] |
1. Had a nice dinner today. I wasn't thrilled with my family, but at least we didn't have to stay too long. :p
2. I have managed to survive on only about an hour and a half of sleep. I thought I might crash when we came back from my mom's, but unfortunately I still had Naruto and Bleach to translate since I didn't get those before we left. And then it was like five-thirty or six and I was thinking, really, if I just push on for a few more hours, I can be on a fairly "normal" schedule, which is what I'm wanting to keep to while Erin is here, because while I usually love my sleep during the day/up all night thing I have going, it's not so great for company (and Erin is not back here until Saturday, but I'd rather not disrupt my schedule more than I have to).
3. I don't have to do anything tomorrow. I mean, there's stuff on my to-do list, but there's nothing urgent, and we don't have to go anywhere, and I can just catch up on my sleep and relax.
There's something else that I have been meaning to put on the list for days and I only remember it when I'm away from the computer. D: And each time, I'm like, oh, I should totally put that on my happiness post! But now I have no idea what it is.
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| Cooking Triumphant |
[26 Nov 2009|06:12pm] |
We had our aging stove cleaned on Tuesday in advance of Turkey day. It worked fine last night....but this evening the gas is no longer flowing into the oven. Gas Bar-B-Que to the rescue! Thank goodness there was enough propane in the tank. We've never roasted a whole bird on the bar-bi before but it went well with the improvised metal roasting pan out of aluminum foil. Of course it meant xlorp had to sit outside in the dark tending the grill while I waved to him from the kitchen from time to time.
The cats were not amused. I am, however, hoping that we might get a new stove out of all of this. The one that came with the house was very cheap and doesn't heat very well.
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| Daily Happiness |
[26 Nov 2009|09:16am] |
1. Well, I got most of my Jump translations done last night. For some reason neither Bleach nor Naruto are out yet. Hopefully they'll show up in the next couple hours so I can get them done before going over to my mom's for dinner... But at least I got One Piece (two chapters this week), Bakuman, and Psyren out of the way!
2. I went to Panera for the first time yesterday. OMG they have delicious pastries. I thought they were just a sandwich shop, but Erin wanted to go there for breakfast, so we walked down (nice walk, like three, three and a half miles round trip) and I got a gingerbread bagel and a orange scone. The scone had this icing on it that tasted exactly like those Pillsbury orange rolls. And the bagel was sooooo good (and cheap, too; their bagels are only $1.25). I'd definitely go down there again.
3. Erin's off with her sisters for a couple days, but she's coming back here on Saturday instead of Sunday like she thought, so that's an extra day to hang out, yay. Plus she's going to be renting a car, so I won't have to get my mom to take her to the airport when she leaves.
4. I'm cat/house-sitting for my former neighbors for a few days, so that means extra money, yay.
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| Misc. notes |
[26 Nov 2009|01:12am] |
♣ I was barely around today because after getting into the inner city to sign some contracts, and then therapy, I felt utterly exhausted. I don't feel that well either and more or less went straight to bed. (It's a mix of having the sniffles, mental/emotional issues, and RL stuff that causes stress ... I'm tired a lot.)
But on the good side, the contracts ARE signed and my work starts on December 1st. It's now official! And although I'm nervous (duh), I'm also looking forward to it a lot. The temp agency is a really good one that cares more about its employers than others I've worked with, and of course I'm excited to meet my ex-colleagues again! They asked for me specifically, which does good things to my self-esteem. And from January onwards, I'm gonna have more money to plan with, which is desperately needed because I can tell there are going to be some extra costs in the future. (Wardrobe, fixing the toilet, cooking and baking utensils, a better binder... that sort of thing.)
♣ Do you remember when people started migrating to IJ and created community asylum duplicates, triplicates, et cetera? And how that annoyed me so much that I even included a sentence in my IJ Beginner's Guide about it? - Looks like it's starting on Dreamwidth, too. "I know there already exist communities for [topic], but they're all dead, so I created a new one!" Which... might end up dead? Great.
Seriously, I DO think that DW has the potential to eventually have a level of activity which is not rivaling LJ but close enough. And currently there's definitely enough activity on my Subscription List when it comes to personal journals (quite similar to IJ, actually; on both sides, I don't feel "starved" in that regard). But community-wise? We're so not there yet. Much less for community duplicates.
♣ Thinking about participating in Wishlist communities. I'm also secretly hoping that people on my friendslist/reading list will, in case they have wishes I can grant. But funny enough, when faced with the task, suddenly I have difficulties thinking of wishes. Currently my list has one (1) item and then I got stuck. (For the curious, it's a Spongebob mousepad. I like Spongebob, although strictly speaking Squidward is my favourite.)
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[25 Nov 2009|12:24am] |
my cousins' wife was taken off life support and passed away. the cancer had spread into her lungs and she was in a medically induced coma for the last week. her oldest (9) told her father that her younger brother (5) was "too young" to have lost their mother. neither child was able to say goodbye - I am not certain if this is a good thing or not.
she was 45 years old.
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| Daily Happiness |
[24 Nov 2009|10:26pm] |
1. My friend Erin is here from out of town. I haven't seen her in almost three years, so it's pretty exciting to see her again. We've been friends since we were like six and eight or something ridiculous like that. She's going to spend tomorrow afternoon through Saturday with her sisters, but then be back at our house and stay until next Wednesday. We did two hours of karaoke this afternoon and hopefully will do more next week.
2. I got the last of the books I ordered for my mom for Christmas, so that is my Christmas shopping done! (That is really my only Christmas shopping, actually, considering Carla got her computer as an early Christmas present.)
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| huzzah! stuff! |
[23 Nov 2009|11:10pm] |
Yuletart image is sent out one hour ahead of deadline (wooo), sweet potatoes for potluck tomorrow are in the fridge, and I am over 30K on my novel. I feel this has been a Good Day.
...still 10,000 behind on NaNo, but. That's okay!
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| Daily Happiness |
[23 Nov 2009|10:24pm] |
I feel like I haven't got much done today because I didn't get much done on the computer, BUT! I did do a ton of housecleaning, because Erin is coming to stay tomorrow, and plus this weekend I want to put the tree up and would want to vacuum and stuff before that, so two reasons to clean means I actually got off my ass and tidied, dusted, and vacuumed.
Plus we finally made a decision on how we want the living room organised, so it's no longer in a half-assed state since we moved the furniture around. I thought of taking pictures tonight (both of it and the rearranged bedroom, which has also had some finishing touches put on it finally, like plugging the clock properly in so it's not got the cord stretching out across the floor), but I think I'll just wait until after I've got the Christmas tree up.
Anyway, so yay, house clean(ish).
And now I am super tired, so I'm going to try and get some sleep and that way I'll be on a more "normal" schedule while I have company (and for Thanksgiving, too, since dinner will be right in the middle of when I'd normally be sleeping).
Also I loved today's Dinosaur Comics.
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| Monday, November 23, 2009 |
[24 Nov 2009|12:54am] |
- irana: On BDSM, Part II - Today we're going to look at some other terms - negotiation, limits, contracts - break those down, and hopefully provide those reading with a better understanding of what those terms mean. -
- irana: On BDSM, Part I - Consent is a vital element in all psychological play, and consent can be granted in many ways. -
- the_minx_17: Hi! My name is Minxie...¦ - [...] if a piece of fiction disregards the basic principles of safe, sane, and consensual they really are more trouble than they're worth. -
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| Amazon deals |
[23 Nov 2009|12:06pm] |
This is for people in the US only, unfortunately, but a code for Amazon has $3 off digital purchases, plus some new albums like Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment and Rihanna's Rated R are on sale for $3.99 each, so you could essentially get a whole album for 99 cents.
There's also some good stuff in the 50 for $5 each section, including The Crane Wife and a Flight of the Conchords album.
I already downloaded a copy of For Your Entertainment, but I figured for that cheap, I should buy the official version as well. I also apparently had $12 in mp3 credits already (they give you $5 whenever you buy anything to do with music (such as the headphones we ordered a few months back) and then I forget to use them), so I bought Rihanna's, too. I still have $8 left, so I should see if there's anything else I want.
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| Daily Happiness |
[23 Nov 2009|03:14am] |
1. Helped my mom and Tom move some furniture yesterday, which earned us $50 off the rent. Woohoo!
2. My hair is blue! It was really a huge pain in the ass, made even worse by the fact that we no longer have a bathtub faucet (well, the faucet is there, it's just broken so you can no longer switch from shower to bath; it's on shower permanently), so I couldn't rinse my head under the faucet, but instead had to do it in the shower, getting blue all over everything, including myself. But I like how it turned out, so yay.
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| Book 67: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros |
[23 Nov 2009|12:56am] |
Title: The House on Mango Street
Author: Sandra Cisneros
Number of Pages: 110 pages
Book Number/Goal: 67/75 for 2009
My Rating: 4.5/5
This is a series of vignettes about Esperanza, a pre-teen girl growing up in a latino neighborhood in Chicago. It's very, very short, even shorter than the 110 pages it appears to be, because each story starts halfway down on the page, and often end with just one paragraph or a few lines on the next page, so there's a ton of empty space. The stories are all just little ordinary things, like reading somebody's memories rather than A Novel. I enjoyed it a lot.
Mooch from BookMooch.
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