Libwitch

62. Strange Brew by P.N. Elrod

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
"Seeing Eye" by Patricia Briggs was a tight story of a blind witch, who after a werewolf comes to her door, faces off for the fight of her life.



Jim Butcher, as always presents an excellent Dresden story, "Last Call" - all Dresden wants in some of Mac's beer, and of course, its not that simple. Certainly not a required reading for the series, but a great, funny story neverless.



"Death Warmed Over" by Rachel Caine was an ok story about a necromancer, who oddly and disturbingly, falls in love with one of those that the brings back from the dead.



"vegas Odds" by Karen Chance is a pretty good story of a witch who discovers assasins at her door on valentine's day.



"Hecate's Golden Eye" by PN Elrod is features the characters from her Vampire Diary files - nicely done, with a cute twist.



"Bacon' by Charlene Harris is a non-Southern Vampire mystery vampire story. Its ok....but she dared thrown a line next to Butcher himself.



The only sorcerer who's gone public is in Chicago, and I hear he is struggling..



Ouch! Dresden has been doing fine since he became a Warden, too, dammit.



"Signatures of the Dead" by Faith Hunter is a rather dark story of a witch and a shapershifter who team up to kill a particularly gruesome group of vampires.



"Ginger" by Caitin Kittridge is an ok story, but just ok, to be honest just ok. The details the story escapes me.



"Dark Sins" by Jenna Maclaine I couldn't get through.


View all my reviews.

63.Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett. (re-Read)

I think it is safe to say that the majority of my f-list has been having a pretty crappy July.

Here is a big hope it gets better. Much better.

I have grown up as a fairly politically observent person; and always regarded NYS politics, as a citizen of such, as sort of a circus to be amused by, and yes, sometimes to be irrated with. And I have done my best to vote the people in office I thought might actually do a decent job with the political backroom politics and mess that happens there; but in the end the whole political scene in Albany is always a mess.

But you know, you just sort of move on.

This summer though - lets just say this has been the first time in my life I have thought about moving out state simply because I was so furious over the circus.

And this is the first time in my life I ever realized that somehow, we (collectively) have failed to provide for a proper chain of command in the state. SERIOUSLY? No one ever gandered at the Constitution and say "hey, did anyone ever notice that we don't have a mechansism for appointing a Lt Governor?"

*headdesk*

So, I will give Patterson kudos for appointing one. I hope it sticks and something starts happening in the Senate. As in they get back to work.

*******

I will be very thankful when this non-stop Michael Jackson coverage ends. Because well, I am finding it a bit hard to work up any care about it.

Ok, yeah, I get it. I even had the posters on my wall. He was a good musician in his time. But I don't think he really did anything that will forever change the musical landscape (video landscape was something different; Thriller broke grounds, I will give him that). In the area motown, there are others who had a much longer lasting influence.

And I have racked my brain trying to think of how he left a big mark on the world - he was known, at best, as an eccentric (and serious emphasis on the eccentric) musician who hadn't done much in a while; that got attention about equally for accused illegal activities, his ever-chagning apparenence (none which was natural); and for spending money like water.

I can't help but to wonder how many people are mourning him for what they meant to him; and how many are mourning him just so that they can feel connected to something larger?

Recently (not)Read:
Man, my first two books of the year that are "can't bear to finish" are both in one day. Agh.

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
I looked forward to reading this book for a long time, so not to be enjoy it all was quite the disappointment. I think it was a combination of three elements: the choppy narrative; the awful notes that were placed throughout the book like placards, which served no useful purpose other then act as a lazy form of transition; and the stereotypical characters.


View all my reviews.

2. Dead To Me by Anton Strout

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
I just...it was.....I....*flail*



I would give this book to people who I know who actually do psychometry for real, but I can't decide if they would laugh, or be furious.



And by page 30, I realized that most of the main character's problems could be resolved if he had just simply ever heard of, oh I don't know, circles and sea salt. Basic, really.



I read lots of urban fantasy, and much of it is bad, practically speaking. This just made my head hurt.


View all my reviews.

Its the annual time that we do meet and greet for incoming students and parents, who are mostly middle class and upper middle class from the LI/NYC area.

I am once again, struck dumb, by the number of the parents who casually mention in conversation that yes, they do expect their child to get financial aid (because they don't know how else they can afford to send them to college), but no, they have not yet applied, because they thought you know, FRESHMAN ORIENTATION was a great time to do so.

There are no words.

*Stella D'oro factory in Brooklyn is closing down in October. No, I am not angry that little crispy bread treats will disappear off the shelves.

The new owners have been in a fight with the workers, all union, who went on strike after the owners (a corporate holdins group) demanded the union take pay cuts and cut in benefits - some I can see (I mean, 9 weeks leave? really?). But there were also other cuts that were insane - such as pretty much killing their health and life insurance benefits (this oddly, is not mentioned in this article).

Last week, a federal judge ruled that factory owners acted illegally in a number of ways in dealing with the union, and ordered the owners to open negotations back up.

So, now the owners are closing the factory down.

Yea. America!

1. Work has been keeping me really really busy. Taking on some new things, doing some huge batches of web page work, gov doc reviews, so on and so forth. Oh, and now our director wants to have one on one meetings with all the staff to discuss "where they want to be in the changing library" or some such silly thing. Considering the outright hostility some of the staff have towards him - and the fact he has never gotten to know some of their names - I am sure these will do wonders in improving the general mood around the place.

2. Weekends have been busy too - which is sort of looking to be the general state of things lately. But the 4th was lovely, as I was able to see akira5899 and T., and met her family and (who are all adorable, really); and had a fab view of the fireworks, too boot. Yea!

3. I have been watching Buffy: Vampire Slayer season 1, and dear gods, I have forgotten how fab the whole damn show was. I never started watching it until it jumped networks (after Buffys' second death), so I eventually saw the whole series, but only out of order on reruns. So this is a treat.

4. My energy has been really off lately. Tired, grumpy. That could be due to a number of things. But what really worries me the most is that my memory is really really bad - to the point I am forgetting words in the middle of sentences, and sentences in the middle of conversations. I am thinking/hoping my thyroid numbers are off, because if not I am flummoxed.

5. I will get up pictures soon - from my nephews birthday party (he is the cutest nephew in existance); fireworks, and more FSG firespinning photos, I swear! Just Sammy with no energy means that I come home, watch Buffy and that is about it.

Recently Read:
59. The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is a whirlwind of experiences as Will traipses through his life, starting out as a small boy in his rural village, rather naive. Everything changes when a War Dragon crashes, and declares himself mayor, and Will finds himself recruited as his lieutenant, and he becomes part errand boy and part spy for the dragon.

In time, Will frees himself and the village from the dragons' control (more or less), but finds himself kicked out of the village - the only home he has known. And this is when his life really begins. He starts traveling wherever the road will take him, where he encounters as young child, Esme, who has a life story even more secretive and confusing then her own, and brings her own brand of luck; and finds himself hunted by ever agent of the government that is out there for reasons he does not know.

Luckily, he is befriended by another fey, a con man, who leads him towards a destiny that Will could have never guessed, but in the end, was the only logical choice for him.

This is a fantasy book in a meta sense - a book in which multiple worlds and settings combine, blend and break apart again all seamlessly.

60. Monster Blood Tattoo: Foundling by D.M. Cornish

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
A steampunk-ish novel of a young orphan who, along his way to be start training to be a lamplighter, gets lost and finds a bigger adventure. Rossamund lives in country where, on the surface, humans are in constant wars against monsters to survive, and those that make a living fighting them are both feared and revered by others. When he gets lost (and finds himself in some pretty dark company) along the way to his first job, it is one of these fighters who rescues him; and he begins to learn that the relationships between monsters and humans may not be as simple as they seem.



A good first book in a series, providing a nice mix of action, adventure, and technology.

61. Black and White by Jackie Kessler

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Black and White is a good read for a fans the superhero genres, or just of any kick-ass female characters in general. It manages they oft-tricky and confusing convention of jumping back and forth between both characters POV's and time frames (childhood and present), very nicely; pulling together a taunt and cohesive story.


In the world that is created, the characters are expected to live in a completely manufactured identity; one that is created as much to scare villains as it is to be commercial viable. They learn in school how to live within these identities, how to fight villains, and how to appease citizens who may not appreciate the work they do. But the lessons that they have to learn on their on is a much harder one - who to trust, and what to be believe.



View all my reviews.

55. The Accidental Sorcerer by K.E. Mills

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Fairly amusing story of a wizard who attempts to save a staff factory, blows it up, and finds himself out of a job, and straight into a political nightmare. A good start to an interesting series.

56. The Awakening, book 2 of the Darkest Powers series by Kelly Armstrong

57. With a Tangled Skein (Incarnations of Immortality, #3 by Piers Anthony

58. Wielding a Red Sword (Incarnations of Immortality, #4) by Piers Anthony

Last night I had a dream that was all about Star Trek (with the actors from the new movie), but they had sort of Star Wars Jedi powers. It was sort of funny. I woke myself up giggling.

....I am really, really sad sometimes.

I will blame the extra-ordinary behavior of people last night on the hot, humid weather. I suppose I could blame it on PTSD brought on by the passing of so many celebrities this week and the breakup of the marriage of that couple that everyone talks about all the time - and who knows - it could be just as valid. This people were that crazy.

First, I go the mall, pull into a row, and spot a spot two places in from my end. Great! Hit my turn signal, pull in.

Apparently, the guy (a bit younger then me), who was entering the row FROM THE OTHER END, felt this was his spot, with his name on it, and took offense, and followed me into the mall, keeping up a verbal tirade the whole damn time.

Oh yes. It was verbal diarrhea. Right next to me. Step for step. "That was MY SPOT, bitch! I saw first! I can't believe you took it from me! What? You think you are going to ignore me? You think you are better then me? Well, you can't do that! Because guess what? You can't leave now until I do! HA! Yeah! So what? You think you can keep ignoring me now? Well, you can't bitch. Whatta think ya gonna do, go to security and complain? They won't do anything because you stole my spot! Keep ignoring me now bitch!"

Thank gods for working years in retail and public service because otherwise I think I would have either burst into tears or panicked. Instead I did the only sensible things:

At one point I stopped, turned around and asked him if he ever considered Anger Management counseling, and then proceeded in the mall, found the first security guard, and asked him to please go out the parking lot and have this guy remove his car, which he parked in the aisle and blocked me in with. The guy skedaddled when he saw me talking to a security officer.

Oddly, by the time I made it out the mall, I was informed by a passing security guard his car had been removed with the help of the local police and a towing company.

I bet HE was surprised.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After this, I went to the grocery store, and as I was in line, the women ahead of me kept taking cell phone calls - annoying, but I was not the cashier waiting on her. She was paying for her purchases with a state benefits card, and for some reason the system was having a hard time connecting to the server to verify the balance left on the card - too busy, perhaps the storms moving through knockout something out, whatever.

The women behind me grabs her stuff off the belt and snaps loudly at her teenage daughter "Come on, this welfare queen can't get off her fucking cell phone long enough to make her purchase!"

To which daughter replies "Well, if she too goddamn lazy to have a job, why the hell does she have cell phone?"

I almost turned around and slapped the both of them.

"Recovering from our experience being Boinged (Sysadmin, save me!) I thought I would share a wondrous site found in a less than exotic location...

The story begins in 1941 at an army depot in Seneca County, NY when some soldiers noticed a couple white deer roaming inside their 24-square-mile fenced-off base. Realizing that something strange (and wonderful) was afoot, the General ordered the soldiers to protect the white deer. While the soldiers continued to hunt brown deer inside the confines of the reserve, the white ones were allowed to breed. With predators were kept at bay by a giant fence, and pressure put on the brown deer by hunting, the white deer population was able to explode. (These blanched deer are not albinos, as you might assume, but rather possess two copies of another rare recessive gene for whiteness.) There are now 200 of them roaming the grounds, the largest herd of white deer anywhere in the world.

Today the base is no longer active, but the deer are looked after by a not-for-profit organization--Seneca White Deer Inc--devoted to managing the herd. They are currently fighting plans by developers to reduce the area to a fourth of its current size."

http://senecawhitedeer.org/home.php

(write up shamelessly stolen from Boing Boing)

I have frequently driven by here and seen the White Deer (luckily, actually, they tend to be quite hidden!), so I hope their fight against developers go well - they are beautiful creatures.

When I was a child, I always heard rumors that the reasons why the dear were white was because of illegal nuclear testing. What always terrified me was the number of people who beleived it!

(I suspect my next round will be "who the hell are in these pictures?)

FSG for me this year was odd. I think, first and foremost, I failed to sleep, so I walked around most of the week in a state of total exhaustation. One to two hours of sleep per night does not make for a happy me.

I also feel like I spent very little time with people overall, which was also odd. I did see some people, but not all that much. Not sure why. Lots of missed connections. But lots of people were also huddled up the first two days trying to stay warm & dry, too.

But I did see many old friends, and met some new, which was fanastic. Really, really fantastic.

I also failed to firespin at all (I did spin, just not fire) - I was too tired to trust myself with fire. So that was also strange. I spotted alot, so I didn't miss out on firespinning altogether, and I saw enough of it so that when I tried to sleep, it pretty much weaved its way through my dreams.

Oh yes, dreams. The one evening I tried to catch a nap, it was the night the was the Trance ritual going forth on one side of me; and a BlueStar ritual going forth on the other. Taken apart, they are lovely and a joy to listen to (and a wonder to partcipate in from what I understand!). However, together when my tent is in the middle.....oh boy, was that a nap filled with Dreams.

And now I am back, and feeling still unsettled. I was hoping being back at work would help, the routine of it all, but alas. I need to...I don't know. *sigh* Things to sort out, I guess.

I am glad I went. The one thing I can say is that it is never what I expect.

I joked on our way home that it was sort of a relief knowing that even a week without news, we could be certain that we were not going to turn on the tv to find out that we had been dragged into a new war.

Ah, well. Apparently, there are many folks out there who think that we should be shifting our troops over a few countries and just straighten out the mess in Iran by shoving our fists down their throats. Because all evidence points to HOW WELL THAT ALWAYS WORKS!

(Will Jimmy Carter please start screaming now?)

I spent part of this morning, yes, watching the video of Neda dying with her life trickling out first under her body, then through her mouth and nose. Her father stands over her and kneels next to her and screams in shock. And it is a horrible and awful as you would expect to be.

What makes it even worse is that contrary to what people are calling her, is that she is not a martyr - she was not out there as part of the protests. She is the most innocent victim of a brutal regime, a young woman who stepped out of a hot car, blocks away from the protests. She thought she was a safe distance away.

Its the hallmark of dysfunctional government to kill those that protest against it. Its the mark of brutal murders to kill those who are only on the sidelines.

-------------------------------------------------------------

There is no answer that we can provide for what is going in Iran. But sending in our troops to "solve it" certain won't.

I hope that everyone in the DC area - and all their friends & family are ok if they ride the metro.

I am sorry, I just have to say:

Lammas was actually canceled due to flooding?

*boggles*

I understand why - I do! The land sounds like it was in full on "holy fuck the water is remembering its path mode."


I just can't remember this ever happening before.

Wow. I was sorry to see that it happened because I know you all were putting a lot of work into it, and there were other events scheduled this past weekend, so I am sure it just added a bit more fun to the re-planning!

1. Our tent got plenty of testing and proved that it is indeed waterproof.
2. The balls of both feet are developing blisters. I am almost in tears when I walk.
3. Best firespinning shirts ever.
4. Wet, fun, cold. (there has been wetter and cooler though)
5. Lack of sleep. Averaged 1-2 per hours a night. Not by choice.
5. Because of #4 I should have not been the first choice to do the first leg of the trip home. Someone however, opted to stay up all night drinking. Yea.
6. Fire play like whoa. Hopefully, will load up some pictures. Can not guarenetee names. Did not get them all. Seriously. It was just like OH YES! THAT GUY!

51. The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was very apprehensive about trying this book for two reasons: `I have not been a big fan (or a fan at all) or Kelley Armstrongs' adult series; and the field of YA supernatural fiction is getting so crowded, that there is frankly, lots of crap being published.

I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to find a highly readable and enjoyable book with some intriguing characters and a base plotline that stands out from much of the YA urban supernatural stuff right now.

Of course, there are elements on always expects to find in any teen-age driven fiction: possible love interest(s), some good kids who Misunderstood by everyone, family drama. But underneath these basic plot devices is the beginning of a strong mystery/adventure series featuring a girl that can see ghosts, a possible half-demon, a shaman, and a host of other teens with interesting power.

52. The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Court of Air starts out very strong, with some really powerful character and setting building. By the end, the book loses its steam (um, no pun to its literary genre intended) and quickly dissolves into something that is a little less riveting (AGH! AGAIN!)

The only problem with this book is that the read is brought into everything very slowly, so the last part of the book everything that must happen to wrap up the storyline does happen - very quickly and a bit haphazardly, so that the fine details of the plot can be lost unless you are a very fastidious reader -- and you fill in some blanks yourself.

But all over all, and enjoyable book.

53. Jim Butcher's the Dresden Files: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent continuation of the graphic novel series, with the second one following the plot of the first ever Dresden Files novel, Stormfront. All over all, the art and dialogue is very true to the series - and it introduces Toot-Toot - excellent! For fans of the series, they will want to look out for the next graphic novel, since this one doesn't come close to covering the whole book - stopping just after he encounters the demon on his "date" with Susan.

This also contains a graphic novelization of the first ever Dresden story (and how he meets Murphy), Restoration of Faith. (The story is available on Butchers' Dresden page).

54.
On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I remember when I first read this series, I fell in love with it. That was a few years ago, and now, I am a bit more conflicted - in part because I know how it ends; and, well...

I had somehow managed to block out how damn preachy it can be (its a hallmark of Piers Anthony's writing - he has very definite opinions of the world, and wants everyone to be very very clear on them). I think the series gets a bit less so as it goes on, but the first book is almost ruined by it. It can be a bit difficult to read when you are being beaten over the head with his views of Good v. Evil; machine-assisted care by the medical field, and the role of Death.




View all my reviews.

You know, I have been a life long NY'er, and the last few months have been the first time in my life I have seriously thought about moving out of the state because of state politics. Patterson is a joke, and the whole political scene is just....

And the events over the last few days have been mind-boggling, topped today with Patterson "imploring lawmakers to “think of the lobbyists,” explaining that they had worked hard “to persuade legislative leaders and legislators of issues."

Yeah.

This article yesterday really gives a great idea of what type of people we have running our government:

"His cronies stole food meant for poor, sick people and gave it out at his political rallies. He owes the city $61,750 in fines for fraudulent campaign fund-raising going back to 2001. He has failed to file 41 reports with the State Board of Elections, and has racked up $13,553 in penalties since 2002. He does not have an office in the district he was elected to represent in the Bronx. In fact, it looks as if he doesn’t even live there.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The newly anointed president pro tempore of the New York State Senate.

The governor-in-waiting should something happen to David Paterson."

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=203388265520&h=CHVEQ&u=HoLKW&ref=nf

Oh yeah. Like I said right from the beginning, I frankly didn't care who or what Spitzer did on his spare time. He was doing a good job. Why did we get rid of him?

You know, I don't mind it generally, when celebrates come out of the broom closet, so to speak. I mean, Cybil Shephard? She generally rocks. (And she came out a long time ago, actually).

But Heather Graham? Could you try to do so in a way that makes you sound, well, a little less, stupid? Just for the sake of everyone else?

Of course you on the Jimmy Kimmel show, so that is giving you a bit of handicap, but still, you are an actress. Try to work it a bit.

We were out driving one Sunday, and we came across a beautiful church that I instead we go back so we could take pictures of later. It looked like something from an illustration.( take a tour )

In my journal style, it cuts off these photos a bit, giving them a very artistic slant. Ooooohhhh. (Or a passerby can think I was drunk when I took them all. Whatever.)