Blog 180

Remember Blog 365? Well, I made it through 6 months, and today I'm throwing in the towel. I'm sure you've noticed the filler: quizzes, one-liners. So I'm abandoning the post-every-darn-day directive, and will now only post when I have something to say. I do hope that will be often! So, my faithful few readers, thanks for sticking with me through the experiment. I hope to be much more entertaining in the future!

Currently reading: Worldwired - Elizabeth Bear, and as many sci-fi magazines as I can get my hands on.
Currently watching: As much Doctor Who as possible
Currently listening to - Alanis Morrisette - Flavours of Entanglement

Readathon

I did not participate in the 24-hour readathon, but congrats to those who did:
pages turned
dewey
3M (also the hostess!)
and all the others I don't know! Get some sleep!

I always come out as INTJ

INTJ - "Mastermind". Introverted intellectual with a preference for finding certainty. A builder of systems and the applier of theoretical models. 2.1% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

Friday's Feast 195

Friday's Feast time again:

Appetizer

What is the weather like today where you live?

Hot and sunny, although there is a chance of a thunderstorm this afternoon. We had one yesterday, which made this morning nice and cool.

Soup

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

8? I'm still trying to figure out what I want my legal career to look like, so I'm pretty focused right now.

Salad

What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

Curtains in my room and the living room, blinds everywhere else.

Main Course

Name something that instantly cheers you up.

My nephew!

Dessert

How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

Two or three times. It's a terrible habit - I should just set the alarm later, but I'm always optimistic I'll actually get up early for a change. Plus I like just lying in bed, thinking of what the day might bring.

BTT: Definition

Booking Through Thursday comes through to help my writer's block:

What, in your opinion, is the definition of a “reader.” A person who indiscriminately reads everything in sight? A person who reads BOOKS? A person who reads, period, no matter what it is? … Or, more specific? Like the specific person who’s reading something you wrote?

Well, even those of us who read "anything" do discriminate somewhat. I don't like westerns or mysteries, but will make an occaisional exception based on a friend's recommendation. I do think the definition is broad enough to include lots of things: websites, comic books, manga, etc. Of course, when an authors says "Faithful reader" in the text, they mean you - the person reading it. So in that sense it can be specific. But I think of it as broader - any text counts.

Unmotivated

I don't know what it is about this week, but I just can't get motivated to do anything! I guess I can blame it on the heat. It looks like the rainy season/monsoon will start this week, though, so that should help. It'll be hot and muggy, but at least it might rain a bit to cool things off. I look at my TBR pile and don't feel like starting anything, or finishing anything I've started. I'd rather play around on the internet or watch TV or sleep or eat ice cream or fruit or anything else, I guess. I know it's just a phase, and it will pass soon enough. Maybe I'm trying too hard, making reading a chore instead of an escape.

I didn't know the cartoon ones...

Created by OnePlusYou

Monday Monday

Today was a long, hectic day, so I'm going to unwind by watching the last two episodes of the first season of Doctor Who. And then wait not-so-patiently for the first discs of Season 2 to arrive from Netflix!

Doctor Who

My latest TV obsession is Doctor Who - the new incarnation. I've been watching the latest season, mostly because it was on right before Battlestar Galactica, and now am obsessed with catching up. So you can imagine my delight at finding the first season on Netflix's "Watch it now." I watched four episodes yesterday, and that is again my plan for this afternoon. It's 107 outside, so a day inside watching TV on my laptop and sipping lemonade sounds pretty darn good! Enjoy your day!

Low Maintenance

What the House Test Says About You

You are happy with who you are, and you don't have an inflated sense of self importance. You do your own thing quietly. You don't take up a lot of space. You aren't against being community oriented, but it's not really your thing. You tend to prefer to focus on your family and not the neighborhood around you. You are a calm, contemplative, and smart person. You take ideas very seriously. You look good in a low maintenance sort of way. You do the minimum required to be attractive. You are moved by romance and love. You are optimistic about people, and you love hearing about happy endings.

The House Test

Friday's Feast 194

From Friday's Feast:

Appetizer

If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?

Australia - it would be different enough to be a bit exotic, yet everyone speaks English.

Soup

Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?
Firefox at home. IT has us locked into IE at work, though - and not even the new version!

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country?

I guess 8? History was always one of my favorite subjects.


Main Course

Finish this sentence: Love is…

Any ending I could come up with is hopelessly cheesy.

Dessert

Have you ever been in or near a tornado?

No - we occasionally get a "funnel cloud" during our summer thunderstorms, but never anything real. And we don't have basements here, so I don't know what we would do if we did have a freak tornado.

BTT: Flavor

Booking Through Thursday time again:

Think about your favorite authors, your favorite books . . . what is it about them that makes you love them above all the other authors you’ve read? The stories? The characters? The way they appear to relish the taste of words on the tongue? The way they’re unafraid to show the nitty-gritty of life? How they sweep you off to a new, distant place? What is it about those books and authors that makes them resonate with you in ways that other, perfectly good books and authors do not?

I have a lot of "favorite" authors, but I'll choose one for this purpose: David Gerrold, author of (among other things) The War Against the Chtorr series. I love that he creates real, flawed characters. Yes, sometimes they are just mouthpieces for some philosophy, but generally they are real people, with their own motivations and problems, just trying to survive. I love that he created a future earth, under attack from *somewhere* - and how he describes how the ecosystem changes, bit by bit. I love that he's also funny - real humor, but also puns and limericks and jokes. I love that he created a world that I still go back to to re-read, and still wait in hope for the next book (he's been promising it to us for ten years or so).

Training

All of the judges are out this week for the judicial conference, so the courts offer training to all of us during this time. We are required to do 16 hours per year, so it's pretty easy to get done over these three days. I took four classes yesterday, which seemed like a really long day. Today I only had one, and with the training I've done earlier in the year, I'm now finished! Thankfully none of these were the "break into small groups" type, which I hate hate hate. The best one yesterday was one on birth order, and how that can affect your personality. At one point, my friend (a fellow first-born) turned to me and said "Tell her to stop talking about me!" Some of the descriptions were spot on. One that particularly stood out was that us firstborns like to sit at the "grown-up" table, even if there is a "kid's" table. The only way to get us to sit willingly at the kid's table is to put us in charge. That is so true. I hated the kid's table - all of the interesting conversation was with the adults! But if you let me boss around the other little kids, then I was happier.

ARC challenge

I saw this over at Musings of a Bookish Kitty, took a look at my ARC pile, and decided this was the motivation I needed to actually get some of them reviewed. The rules:

The challenge will run from June 21, 2008-September 21, 2008.

The rules:

1. Make a list of all of the ARC’s that you currently have and/or are on their way to you.

2. If you have:

* 1-3 ARC’s then pick at least one to read and review for this challenge.
* 4-6 ARC’s then pick at least two to read and review for this challenge.
* 7-9 ARC’s then pick at least three to read and review for this challenge.
* 10 or more ARC’s then pick at least 4 to read and review for this challenge.

3. Crossovers with other challenges are allowed.

4. List the books that you plan to read for this challenge (you can change it at any time, as long as the books you change are also ARC's). You can read the books on your list in any order.

5. Read the books and review them on your blog. If you don’t have a blog, you can post your review on sites like Amazon. Leave a comment on the post about the challenge with a link to each of your reviews.

My ARC list:

Strangers in Death - J.D. Robb
Enlightenment for Idiots - Anne Cushman
A Prisoner of Birth - Jeffrey Archer
Ask Again Later - Jill A. Davis
Marie Therese: Child of Terror (The Fate of Marie Antoinette's Daughter) - Susan Nagel
Mercy Street - Mariah Stewart
The First Thirty Days - Ariane De Bonvoisin
Loose Girl - Kerry Cohen


I have bolded the two I plan to read first; I'll decide on the third later. I'm actually hoping to get through all of them, but we'll see how that goes.

To join the challenge, go here.

A rose by any other name...

Borrowed from The Watcher's Counsel:

You Like Names That Are Popular and Modern

You prefer names you've heard quite a bit and know well. It's possible that you like the idea of naming someone after a friend. You taste in names is very mainstream. You don't like odd names at all. You rather share a name with someone you know than be stuck with a weird name. Some female names you might like: Amber, Erica, Kristen, Lauren, Megan, Tara, and Vanessa Some male names you might like: Brett, Christian, Jason, Kyle, Logan, Scott, and Trevor

What Kind of Names Do You Like?

Fathers' Day

Happy Fathers' Day to all the Dads out there!

Saturday Quiz

Your Ice Cream Personality:

You like to think of yourself as a fairly modest person. And it's true that you don't talk yourself up... but you're also pretty happy with who you are. You have a wild reputation, but you're not as wild as you seem. You take risks, but only measured risks. You are a fairly open minded person with a wide range of tastes. You are quite accepting of unusual ideas and people. You are a natural multitasker. You feel alive when you're doing more than one thing at a time. You can be a big dramatic and over the top sometimes. You are bold in every way

The Ice Cream Personality Test

Friday's Feast 193

Friday's Feast:
Appetizer

Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

I consider myself a realist - hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Soup

What is your favorite color of ink to write with?

Black. It's bold and straightforward. When I was in law school I did have to keep my inner child entertained by using various colored highliters for my schoolbooks, though. I preferred green and orange for that.



Salad

How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?

I do my own nails - manicure once a week, and a pedicure every three weeks or so in the summer. I love buying nail polish - my sister says I have a hundred versions of the same shade of pink. That is not entirely accurate.

Main Course

Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?

I "won" a few advance reader books from LibraryThing.

Dessert

In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?
My computer is in my bedroom, and my mom's is in the living room.

BTT: Clubbing

From Booking Through Thursday:

A combo of two suggestions by: Heidi and by litlove

Have you ever been a member of a book club? How did your group choose (ot, if you haven’t been, what do you think is the best way to choose) the next book and who would lead discussion?

Do you feel more or less likely to appreciate books if you are obliged to read them for book groups rather than choosing them of your own free will? Does knowing they are going to be read as part of a group affect the reading experience?

I have never been a member of a book club. One of my friends is a member, and she lets me in on her list of books to read, but even if she asked, I don't think I would join. It would be too much pressure to read and process the book, and I don't really like group settings like that anyway. Maybe if I was already friends with all of the members, but certainly not with people I don't already know. I do talk about books with that friend, and with others, but not in such a structured setting.

On a related note, I hate when a blurb for a book says "perfect for book clubs" or something like that. It sounds too much like an "Oprah" book (some of which have been good, but still) and it just makes my defenses go up. It translates to me as "this book is full of contrived situations or fake big ideas that you must talk about with all of your friends."

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to me!  One of my coworkers made me a yummy birthday cake, so it's been a pretty good day so far.  Tonight is dinner with my sister, nephew, brother-in-law and mom, then more cake, so it should be pretty fun.  I think my nephew made me a card, so I'm looking forward to that.  He's able to take dictation to write what he wants, but he's a little loose with the word placement.  My mom's birthday card read "Happy Grammy Birthday."  Naturally, she'll be keeping that forever.

Movie - Cloverfield

"What the hell was that?"

"I don't know.  Something else.  Also terrible."

 

    I'm a J.J. Abrams fan, despite my abandonment of Lost after season 1.  I enjoyed this, althought it is not his best work.  I liked the "found documentary evidence" gimmick, although there were times I wanted to yell at the guy with the camera.  I mean, if you are pinned down in the street, don't film your friends, film the giant destructive thing in front of you!  And I think he revealed the monster a little too soon.  It didn't hurt that one of the actors looks like a younger Michael Vartan, either.  He is a hottie.  But overall, I thought it was a pretty good summer movie, with lots of destruction.  And the special effects were very seamless; I'm pretty picky about that.

100 channels...

We had digital cable installed today, so naturally that means I can't decide what to watch. After the outage last week, my mom was so mad at Cox that she decided to...order more services from them. Hey, if I benefit on the side, who am I to complain?

So I will entertain you today with this link, via Wil Wheaton. Enjoy!

Movie: Ever Since the World Ended

I love post-apocalyptic stories, and I love fake documentaries, so I enjoyed this movie. It was one Netflix put on my list of recommendations, and it was worth the time. It is set in San Francisco, after a plague has wiped out almost everyone. There are 186 survivors in the Bay Area, and two filmmakers decide to try to tell the story of the survivors. I would have liked it better if it had told more about the other people; some of the characters are not well-defined. It was good for a Sunday afternoon, and it's only an hour and 15 minutes long, so not much of a commitment.

I really thought this would be higher...

You Scored 65% Correct

You are a solid child of the 80s You'd never confuse Tiffany from Debbie And while you may not know Prince's first #1 hit You know every word to Little Red Corvette

How Much Do You Know About 80s Music?

Friday's Feast 192

Friday's Feast time again...

Appetizer

When you drink soda/pop/coke, do you prefer to drink it from the bottle, a can, or after pouring it into a cup?

I prefer it in a cup with ice, but after that from a can with a straw.

Soup

What television show are you willing to stay up late to watch?

Battlestar Galactica! It's on at 10 p.m. our time, which is late for me.

Salad

Name one person, place, or thing you think of as brilliant.

J.J. Abrams - the man behind Lost and Alias, and the new Star Trek!

Main Course

Would you be willing to work 4 10-hour days instead of 5 8-hour days in order to save gas?

Yes, absolutely - unfortunately the courthouse does not yet run on that schedule. Then again, 10 hours at the court would be a pretty long day.

Dessert

If you were a superhero, what would you call yourself?

Wonder Woman! So I could have an invisible jet, and a golden lasso of truth!

BTT: Trends

From Booking Through Thursday:

Have your book-tastes changed over the years? More fiction? Less? Books that are darker and more serious? Lighter and more frivolous? Challenging? Easy? How-to books over novels? Mysteries over Romance?

I've written before that I tend to go on binges - reading everything about a particular topic, for example, then moving on to the next one. I don't think my overall taste has changed, though. I like an absorbing story, in an interesting setting, with real characters. That is a broad generalization, of course, because I also like informative nonfiction, and enjoy a good travel book now and again. My taste has probably matured some: I used to devour romance books in my youth, but now find them too simplistic. But give me a good sci-fi any day, and that has been true since I picked up I Robot in 5th grade.

Wordless Wednesday

There are no words: LINK

Baby Birds

It's been a good year for baby birds near our house. We had a pair of ravens nest in the front yard, and they have three babies now flying about. Of course, they make a lot of noise, and a big mess, but they are still fun to see. We also had two baby hummingbirds in the backyard. My mom got to see them take their first flight. They were very cute, and nice and quiet! Plus there is a pair of hawks in the back alley, and we think they have one baby. A couple of years ago they nested in the tree that now has the ravens, so they often sit in that tree, much to the ravens dismay. My sister has a nest of baby sparrows - we can't see them yet, but we can hear them!

Currently reading...

I'm currently in the midst of three books:

Governess: The Lives and Times of the Real Jane Eyres - Ruth Brandon
Worldwired - Elizabeth Bear
Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse - Ed. by John Joseph Adams (short stories)

I'm enjoying all of them, but haven't yet finished any!

Broken English - movie

So our cable is back. Turns out, when they were "upgrading" the service in our neighborhood on Thursday, they didn't so much "upgrade" us as "disconnect" us. Took the tech all of five minutes to fix. Why they couldn't have sent someone out on Friday, I don't know. Anyway, I took advantage of the outage and read and watched DVDs, including "Broken English." This one hit a little too close to home: single thirty-something who is beginning to despair of ever getting married. I don't think I'm as desperate as she was, but I could relate to the loneliness. Of course, she meets a handsome young Frenchman, and ends up going to Paris, so it all turns out okay for her. I wouldn't mind meeting a handsome young Frenchman! The movie was well done - good script, believable characters.

I also rewatched the new BBC version of Sense and Sensibility, which stands up to rewatching quite well.

Okay...

Your 80s Theme Song Is:

Summer of '69 by Bryan Adams

What's Your 80s Theme Song?