My Prate Is Full

I found another children’s book that is no longer being published. It’s called The Long White Month by Dean Marshall. If you can find a copy of this book to buy, it’s usually well over $100. There are people on the web begging to have this book published again. I was very curious about it, so I looked it up at my library. Sure enough, no copy. So I did the interlibrary loan thing (I love the library), and managed to get an old and worn copy.

I can see why it’s such a favorite. It’s really a pity that books like this fall to the wayside. Frankly, I’m surprised that this is one of the books that did.

I don’t know how else to describe it except to say that this book is…….full. It fully embodies its world very simply and never veers off course. It’s a story about Priscilla, and orphan living a privileged life with her elderly cousin whom she calls Aunt Millicent. When Aunt Millicent gets sick and has to recuperate in California for a month, Priscilla goes to live with her older cousin Susan, in a small house in the woods in the winter time. The conditions are rustic, but Priscilla thrives.

The book was published in 1942, so it would seem there would not be anything that kids today could relate to. But there are still universal themes that aren’t lost on children, I hope, and I think Dean Marshall still manages to tap into that. Priscilla is an orphan trying to find a place to be happy and secure. She comes to love the birds that need to be fed in the winter. Her thoughts and feelings come across so clearly and with all the wonder one hopes a child can still experience. Marshall describes everything in wonderful detail, really getting into Priscilla’s point of view and through her eyes, especially in her interactions with her birds. Other children’s books I’ve read don’t have this kind of detail anymore - maybe because attention spans move on too quickly now, I don’t know.

It’s a pity because it is a wonderful world to experience if you can stick with it. If you happen to get a hold of this book, it’s worth the read.

This book had been sitting on a stack of books for well over a year.  I had read all of the other books in the stack, but for some reason, had never had the inkling to read this one. I had heard it was a memoir of a girl growing up in a small town in Indiana, and I simply did not believe it would be an interesting read.  So there it sat.

Then there came a day when I had read all the books I had borrowed from the library. The next batch I had put on reserve had not arrived yet. I had nothing to read, and very badly needed something to read. So I finally pulled Zippy from the shelf.

What was I thinking? This book was a great pleasure to read! Yes, it is a book about a girl growing up in a small town. I got that part right. What I didn’t get right, was the author.  Haven Kimmel is one hell of an entertaining author. I laughed out loud at several parts of the book. Her point of view, her prose, her way of rendering a story just had me in stitches throughout several passages of her book. Some authors are very funny, but preciously so. I got none of that from Kimmel. She seems like a genuinely humorous person with a very real talent for writing that seems to come directly from the heart. Throughout the novel I was riveted by her descriptions of the time, the people, and the town, all through the eyes of this little girl, Zippy, in her little world. Kimmel’s point of view is always sunny, affectionate, optimistic, and of course, very funny.  When all you are writing about is life in a small town - well, a very small town - it would be quite a challenge to make it interesting. Kimmel does more than make it interesting. She makes you come to love her world through Zippy’s eyes.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed A Girl Named Zippy. I liked it so much, I borrowed the sequel, She Got Up Off the Couch, from my library. I’ll write up about that one as well when I finish.

I’ve been reading a few children’s/young adults novels lately. Summer of Night, A Boy’s Life, Blind Voices. There’s some good stuff out there written for younger audiences. There’s a different set of challenges for an author when writing for children. Meeting those challenges and still managing to turn out compelling stories is a tribute to any author who can do it well.

Reading these stories reminded me of a book I read in grade school. It was called The Shattered Stone, and it was the book that got me into reading fantasy. After The Shattered Stone, I started reading C.S. Lewis, and then moved on to other fantasy stories. The stories became more sophisticated in the telling, but I always remembered reading that first one.

Funny thing was, I always had a hard time finding that book again. I managed to check it out a few times at the library, but after a certain point, it just disappeared. I couldn’t remember the author’s name, and even the title became fuzzy after a while. I would go back to that same shelf at the library, but could never find it. I kept trying variations on the title - The Shattered Rock, The Sword in the Stone. I tried variations on the author - Richard Stone, Robert Peck. No luck.

Finally, in the age of the internet, Google, and Amazon, I managed to find both the title and the author. Not surprisingly, it’s not in print anymore. My local library doesn’t carry it either. I did manage to do an inter-library loan, and some library I had never heard of sent the book over. I could not believe it. After all these years I had found the book.

As I read the book again, I was suprised at how much I liked it. It’s the story of two teenagers, Ivo and Neva, who live in an enchanted forest. They are raised by a man named Jartan and a woman they call Mistress Sylvia. It seems Ivo and Neva are both orphans and are leading very sheltered lives in the forest. Ivo has been raised by Jartan to be a skilled swordsman. Neva’s education under Mistress Sylvia is a little more mysterious. Neva can sew, tend to the sick, cook, but she is also very intuitive. Ivo is the fighter, Neva the intuitive intellectual.

Their sheltered life changes with the arrival of a prince who becomes interested in Ivo and Neva.  The prince becomes injured and must stay in their forest while he heals. During his stay, Ivo and Neva find that their forest is believed to be enchanted by outsiders. They find that no one talks to animals the way they can, and that no one is able to enter their part of the forest at will.  They also find that tensions are brewing between two factions, with possible war.  Mistress Sylvia tells them, then, of a tablet or stone which is rumored to hold the key to peace between the factions. So Ivo and Neva leave their forest with the prince in search of the stone.

The story is quite lean. The author wastes no words getting his point across. It worked well for me as a young reader. As an adult reader, I would have liked to have seen more development in the various scenes, but then this book is not aimed at an adult audience. Despite his brevity, he still creates a feeling of adventure, friendship, and growing romance between the characters. At the end, my heart actually did soar again the way it did when I first read it. I can easily see why I loved it so much as a young reader and why it got me hooked.

This book did not make it to the ranks of classic, but it sure fired up my imagination. I guess no well-written book goes to waste if it does its part in leading a child to actively pursue reading.

Wow, wow, wow, wow and super wow! What an episode! It was awesome! It was a doozy. It was one of the best episodes of this series. It kept me up for hours afterwards. Thank you Eric Kripke!

In the Beginning is a huge payoff. It explains just about everything about the mythology of the series. Dean is transported back to the past, courtesy of Castiel, with only the orders “You have to stop it.” He finds himself in Lawrence, Kansas in 1973, where he meets his father and mother when they were young, in-love, and on the verge of becoming engaged. He also meets his grandparents, and we all get to find out what exactly happened with the Yellow Eyed Demon  and how Sam came to be one of his chosen ones.

This episode is a mind blower. It has everything. Jaw-dropping reveals, great acting, plot and mythology development, heartbreaking pathos. I can’t believe how good the writing is on this series. It really says something when you can deliver as much as this episode delivered and STILL ratchet up the stakes to, literally, apocalyptic proportions. I am on edge, waiting to see what happens with this series.

So far it looks like it is indeed heading towards a showdown between the brothers. Castiel warned Dean that Sam is going down a dangerous path, and that if Dean doesn’t stop it, they (the angels)  will. It’s way too soon in the game to predict, but my feeling is that Sam will continue to head down that dark road and will eventually become lost. Lucifer will rise, and there will be an apocalyptic battle that pits brother against brother. In the end, only Dean can bring Sam to redemption. I don’t think Sam is going to survive, but I do think Dean will help Sam redeem himself, and in that redemption, Sam will help Dean find faith. Sam will go down in a blaze of redemptive glory. Dean will survive. In reward for all his sacrifice, Dean will live the life he always wanted, knowing at some point he will meet his family again.

Again, pure speculation on my part….

In the Beginning spun me off into a whirlwind of thoughts about what could happen, and what could this mean. There was so much to like, and hang on to, and speculate about. How will all of this go down? This is great stuff!

Mitch Pileggi guest starred in this episode. He was just great. Great as Grandpa Samuel and great as the YED. I did not know he was such a good actor. I was really impressed. This show, on the whole, has been doing a really good job of casting its characters.

Looking back to the beginning of the Supernatural series, it is really very impressive how the storylines have been slowly building. How each season has improved upon the previous one. I never would have guessed from where things were then, that we would find ourselves here, with the stakes so high, and looking to build even higher.

This series is just terrific. Not many people watch it, and I’m surprised. I’ve been committed to this series from almost the beginning, and I have to say, I am getting a lot in return.

Woo hoo!!! The boys are back! I’ve missed them. Oh boy, have I missed them.

What a great episode the season premiere was! I recorded it, and I have to admit, I’ve watched it a couple of times. It was that good. I still continue to enjoy the writing, the story lines, and the acting on this show. If this episode is any indication of how the rest of the season will be, this show is going to go down as my absolute favorite of all time. It might, just might, surpass So You Think You Can Dance. That would be one hell of a feat!

I love that Dean came back from Hell. He had to, of course. There is no way there could be a show without him (or Sam), but the added twist of how he came back was just super awesome!! I mean majorly awesome. It was not a cheap return. Kudos to Eric Kripke for not insulting our intelligence.

Bobby’s and Sam’s reactions to Dean’s return were great. I got tears in my eyes. The chick in me wishes there had been more on Sam’s part, but I guess one must respect the fact that boys have to be boys.

As far as the brothers are concerned, I did feel a difference with Sam. I could tell he was deeply happy to see Dean, but there was a difference. Dean was still Dean. In the four months he was in Hell, nothing changed for him regarding Sam. But there was a slight distance in Sam. Very subtle, but there nonetheless. It was explained later on, but I thought it was interesting, and a tribute to really good show that you could feel such a subtle difference. You’d really have to like the characters to notice. Like me. Well, I actually LOVE these characters. But then I’m totally geeked out on this show.

The storyline coming out of Dean’s return was genius. I did not see that one coming at all. I had read somewhere that Eric Kripke said angels had no place in the Supernatural world. He was either trying to throw everyone off the track, or the new character of Castiel is not what he seems.

Personally, I hope he is. What a great plot twist that would be! You could see a potential showdown between the brothers with VERY high stakes. Sam has been going down a dark path. Even though he believes he is doing good at this point, he is still dabbling on the dark side, with the potential to get sucked into it. And everything points to his being one bad ass leader if he does. Dean may be the only one able to stop him, and if he gets recruited by the good guys to do just that…….oh my gosh, my heart is beating really fast, and breaking, at what that portends for the brothers and how this whole series could end. It would be great, it would be heartbreaking, it would make for one hell of a kick-ass series.

Supernatural is supposed to end with season 5. I think that’s the best way to handle shows like this. Keep it tight, keep it well-crafted, move it along and then give it a proper ending. LOST is the same kind of show. Once they gave it an end date, the storylines tightened up and it became great again. I’ll miss Supernatural when it ends, but giving it an ending it deserves will be well worth it.

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!!!!

When I got back from my lunch at work today, I decided to use the service elevator. I normally don’t use it, but I was running late, and the service elevator is faster. I only had 5 minutes to get back to my desk, after all.

I stepped in, pushed the button for the 4th floor and waited as the elevator took me up. As  I got to the 3rd floor, the 4th floor button light suddenly turned off, and the elevator stopped. When I looked up to verify what floor I was on, the indicator said 3rd. Hmmm. I pressed the button for the 4th floor again. Nothing. I pushed the button to open the doors. Nothing. I pushed the button to close the doors, just to test the elevator. Nothing. I stood there for a second, not quite sure what to do. I wasn’t really worried at that point, just a little puzzled.

Then the elevator started shaking, jerking up and down, as if it was trying to move but couldn’t. Oh boy. I think it’s safe to say my stomach, heart, guts, heck, anything lower- extremity area, jumped up into my throat. The vibrations stopped after a couple of seconds, so I tried pushing the buttons for the floor and the doors again. Nothing.

This is when visions of the elevator plummeting 3 floors popped into my head. I swear to God, that movie Speed ran through my mind. You know the scene? The one at the beginning where Dennis Hopper rigged that elevator, and Keanu Reeves and Jeff Daniels only had minutes to save the poor souls trapped inside? I think I started to panic a little. Other thoughts ran through my mind like, “I can survive a 3 story fall” to “I’m not gonna survive a 3 story fall!”

Ironically, I had just read a book called The Unthinkable, which covers the stages people move through when confronted by disaster. As I was reading the book, I wondered what my reaction would be in the face of disaster. I had hoped I would be one of those heroic people who moves through the stages quickly and makes the right decisions which ultimately ensures survival.

I am no longer under any illusions. I would be one of the ones to die.

As I stood there in the elevator, did I sound the alarm? Yes, but I rang it like a dainty doorbell, as if I were tentatively buzzing some front door, afraid of waking someone up. The thoughts running through my head as I did this? If this elevator thing turns out to be nothing, I’m going to look like an idiot. In The Unthinkable, this was described as denial.

Yes, I would be one of the ones to die.

My next decision? To save myself from embarrassment, fingers shaking, I text messaged my co-worker, “Problem! Stuck in service elevator! Help,” as if she could do something.

I’m telling you - one of the ones to die.

After my shaking subsided, I tried the button to open the door again. Hallelujah, it worked! The door opened onto the 3rd floor. I wasn’t going to die!

What did I do? I stood there for a second thinking, I could get into big trouble if I come out on the 3rd floor (our company sent us an email forbidding us to enter any other floor on the building other than our own), maybe I should try to take the elevator up to the 4th floor; it seems to be working now. The door started to close while I contemplated this. Finally, reason settled in. I stuck out my arm to stop the door and stepped out of the elevator. The door closed behind me and I made my way up to the fourth floor, texting my co-worker along the way that I made it out.

It turns out other people have gotten stalled on that service elevator as well. My co-worker and I reported it to security, and the elevator has since been blocked off.

I can’t help but think that I really missed an opportunity. One where I could have moved  beyond my fears and become, well, Superwoman. Even afterwards, shouldn’t I have felt empowered by having survived an elevator scare? My idea of empowerment was spitting in the face of my diet and going on ahead and having that yummy cookie at the company picnic later that day.

Oh well. I guess when all is said and done, what I really should be doing is sending a big thanks up there that nothing bad happened. Honestly, I am. I really am.

Just what I need, another T.V. show to get hooked on. The second season premiere of The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles aired tonight, and it was great! I was on the edge of my seat.

The Terminator franchise has sure gotten a lot of mileage. The first Terminator movie ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time. When I first saw it, I did not really think of myself as a science fiction lover. The Terminator proved me wrong. Of course, it is one of the best science fiction movies out there, as time has proved. But the storytelling in that movie is just fantastic; the way it weaves in the time travel, a great villain, really noble heroes, and that love story. Oh, that love story. The movie has something for the guys, and something for the girls. Genius.

Who would have thought that the Terminator could be played out on T.V.? I mean a character like that is tailor made for the big screen. No way could a small screen do it justice.

Wrong. The T.V. show does a really good job. Summer Glau is an inspired casting choice, one I never would have thought of (that’s why I don’t get paid the big bucks, I guess!). Her delivery of the character is great, and the fact that she is great eye candy for the guys doesn’t hurt the show either. Lena Headey is a really good actress and takes over the Linda Hamilton role quite well (although Linda Hamilton will always be my personal favorite). She doesn’t quite have the manic edge that Hamilton brought to the role, but she probably has to pace herself as this is probably going to be a longer T.V. series. Brian Austin Green is a surprise. When did David Silver become a hunk? Heck, a man! I remember him as a skinny little teen from 90210. Where do the years go? And he’s a pretty good actor to boot. It’s a pleasant surprise. Thomas Dekker as John Connor does well, I think. I know there are complaints that all he does is pout and whine, but I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve really ever seen a teenage boy do anything other than pout and whine. Maybe he lacks a certain gravitas at this point, but it is still pretty early on in the series, and his character is still very much a teen. I think he’ll grow into it. At least I hope he will.  All the other supporting characters do a terrific job. You have to credit the writers, the creator, the director, everyone for getting behind the vision of the show.

The show does a good job of carving a credible space for itself in the Terminator time line,   using the time travel to jump past the Terminator 3 movie, but still allow for the fourth Terminator movie coming out soon. Bringing Derek Reese, Kyle Reese’s older brother, as a character was a good choice. I feel a link to the first movie with this character. I always missed Kyle Reese in the Terminator sequels.

The tension between John Connor and the Terminator Cameron is an interesting development as well. It’s kind of twisted, but really interesting. A Terminator can’t have feelings, right? Hmmmm. Watching John grapple with it, watching the choices he makes because of it, is going to be fun this season, and it will probably make for some poignant moments. The first episode this season already had an interesting choice for John. His future self sent this Terminator back to protect him; what does this portend for the future?

What am I going to do? I really shouldn’t get hooked on another T.V. show. I was planning to catch Fringe on Tuesday night, but if I end up getting hooked on that show as well, I’ll be watching way too much T.V. I can feel my mind turning to mush just thinking about it!

I’m telling you, with all this great T.V., who needs cable?

I did something I shouldn’t have……

I’m wealthy-challenged right now. I really have to be watching my pennies, keeping an eye towards the upcoming months until things improve and I can loosen my belt a bit.

But I couldn’t help it. For months now, a year maybe, I have been eyeing those cute little netbooks that seem to be popping up everywhere. I have always wanted a little laptop I could just pack up and take along with me wherever I go. I don’t know why. I just do. My current laptop is 11”, so it’s just shy of an ultraportable. It was the closest I could get to one. At the time, it was the smallest game in town that cost less than $1500. To a certain extent, I can pack it up and go, but not that easily.

So when Asus first came out with its little netbook, I was all eyes and ears. I held off, though. It wasn’t quite what I wanted. At least not yet.

Then I heard about all the other netbooks coming out. The HP Mini Note, the MSI Wind, the Acer Aspire One. My fingers started itching to get my hands on one.

Not now! I thought to myself. This is the worst time to get one. You have a perfectly good laptop, there is NO NEED for one.

I thought I could put it off. After all, netbooks keep improving. Heck, the Dell netbook wasn’t out yet (it was just released the other day). That was worth hanging on for.

Then Acer dropped their prices on the Aspire One. It had just the specs I wanted and it was at least $100 less than anything else out there.

I couldn’t stop myself. I was moving before I knew I was moving. I was checking everywhere for this netbook. It was tough to find too – it kept selling out quickly. Damn! I only wanted it more. Finally, I found a store that carried a lot of the ones I wanted in stock. I drove a long way to get it. But I got it.

It’s soooooo CUTE!!! I love it!! It’s small, it’s light, and I find I’ve been typing away like crazy on it. It’s actually been an eye opener to see how little I use of the features on my regular laptop (which now looks HUGE, by the way).

The Acer Aspire One feels good in the hands. It feels very sturdy, not at all flimsy. The keyboard feels good too. I tried the Asus eee pc900 and was not at all comfortable with its keyboard. My fingers are small, but that keyboard felt too cramped for me. The Aspire One’s keyboard feels great. Springy keys, good spacing. Hey, it makes a difference! I have the XP version and the programs load quickly enough. Probably not as quickly as the Linux version, but it’s definitely quicker than my regular laptop. And its looks – have I mentioned how CUTE it looks??

The battery life does kind of suck, I admit. I knew that was going to be an issue when I bought it. But for the price, I can live with it. At some point, I’ll buy a bigger battery, but I don’t need it now.

I shouldn’t have done it. I really shouldn’t have.

But it’s soooo CUTE!!!! My precious……

I didn’t quite feel it…..

I don’t know. I think I needed to hear more specifics on what steps John McCain plans to take to help our country. I heard a lot about how his results would be the opposite of Obama’s. I heard a lot of how he would defend our country (a big selling point for me, actually). I heard a lot about what great character he has. I have to agree with that.

But I don’t know. Maybe I just wasn’t listening with the right ears, but I’m still not clear about how he plans on helping our economy. That’s a big issue for me. I hear about how lowering taxes will help stimulate our economy. I hear about how the Republican party believes that government should let us make for ourselves what we want, and let us enjoy the fruit of our labors. I buy into that. I really do.

But something is still wrong. Something is not working, and I haven’t been paying enough attention to understand what that is. Maybe no one does. Well, that makes sense. We wouldn’t have two opposing parties if we did, I guess.

Is the problem corruption in government? Can we still uphold the Republican beliefs if we did not have the corruption? If all McCain and Palin have to do is get government cleaned up, will we come back with flying colors?

Or is the problem deeper than corruption (as bad as that is)? I do believe that success and everything that comes with it should be enjoyed, but it seems like there are many who are getting away with a lot more than fairness dictates. Loopholes in our tax laws, avenues for advancement getting closed down if it interferes with the status quo, roadblocks to attempts at serious reform. It seems that there is a lot at stake for those who would prefer to keep things “more of the same”.

I don’t know. I like the kind of freedom the Republicans talk about. It just seems that it’s kind of limited to, well, Republicans. Even if it’s not, I guess I have to go back again to that feeling that whenever I hear the Republicans speak, it doesn’t feel like I’m the one being addressed.

Still, I did like McCain. He seems like a kindly old gent. I like how he didn’t attack Obama and seemed to call on everyone to act as free Americans and to serve the country.  I think if the problems in government can be solved by either party, any one of them in office will go a long way. I am a little worried about the fact that there might be an overwhelming majority of Democrats in government. I prefer a balance of power. So I don’t know.

It’s still a toss up for me.

Well, ever since Summer of Night, which I loved, I’ve been looking for similar books to enjoy. One recommendation was Boy’s Life, which I wrote about earlier. Now I’ve just finished reading another recommendation, Blind Voices by Tom Reamy.

It was pretty good. I think Summer of Night will remain my all-time favorite, but Blind Voices wasn’t too bad. In some ways, it was more cohesive for me than Boy’s Life. It doesn’t have the soaring prose or complexity, but the story felt tighter and more complete. There is a boy that flies in this book too, ironically, but I bought into it. No questions asked.

The story is about a circus that comes to a small town circa 1930. It has the usual assortment of circus delights and oddities, but something is much more sinister about this circus and its leader, Mr. Haverstock. The story tells of 3 teenage girls, Evelyn, Francine, and Rose, who become drawn to the various characters of the circus.  These characters include a couple of stage hands, a miniature man, a Minotaur and a mysterious albino boy with magical powers. Their involvements cause a series of catalysts, revealing the dark nature of the circus. Things start unraveling and go south quickly.

The author manages to mix the idyllic feel of the small town, the rough and raw lifestyle  of a traveling circus, the whimsy of romance and magic, and the dark side of science and the paranormal. It is kind of surprising to get all of that in such a fast read. It moves right along, but still manages to deliver what it needs to be an effective story. It doesn’t delve into character as much as Boy’s Life and Summer of Night. This story is more about plot, but it’s well-crafted. I wouldn’t recommend it for young children and younger teens because there are some frank descriptions of sexual situations, but other than that, I enjoyed it.