So I’ve mainly been playing games to take my mind off things lately
2020-06-19
OK, here’s the deal. My gallbladder issue has become a big issue lately. The good news is I’m scheduled for surgery at the end of June. The bad news, at least as far as blogging is concerned, is that I haven’t felt much like working on the site or writing posts. I have been reading, watching and playing a lot of stuff and making notes for the future. Takes my mind off the pain. At least what I keep telling myself. Anyway, about a week or so ago we bought a Legends of Zelda game we didn’t have, Skyward Sword. And, wow. This is aRead More →
on the threads J.K. Rowling wove into Harry Potter
2020-06-12
Warning! Possible spoiler ahead for that one person in the world who hasn’t ever been exposed to Harry Potter… Just saying. So, I’ve been re-watching the Harry Potter films the last few days and had a minor revelation. Admittedly J. K. Rowling isn’t the greatest writer in the world. Of course, these were supposed to be children’s books that became so much more. And as children’s stories the writing is fantastic. However – and this is what hit me – she does an absolutely amazing job of laying out threads throughout the entire series. Threads that are not visible at first. And yet when youRead More →
When something old is new again
2020-06-05
My schedule is beginning to get back to normal. Somewhat. Until I can build up a backlog, though, sharing some quick links will help me get back into a posting routine. That said, this was an interesting one I ran across. And rather timely, all things considered. From the article: “Today, in 2020, there are 350 working drive in theaters across the country, a number that has been in a steady decline. But they’ve seen a rise in popularity lately thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, as it’s deemed a socially distant activity. But what does the future look like for drive-ins?” I’m from and currently live inRead More →
this, that and the other kind of week
2020-05-22
I started out the week with several posts in the works. Then life took over. As a result, I haven’t had much time to work on anything much at all. So I decided to simply do an update post on what’s in the works. More or less. Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla For Mother’s Day my kids got me a two volume set of Godzilla movies from the 1990s/2000s. Since then my son and I have been working our way through them in chronological order, a couple at a time. It’s both fun and mind boggling. You wouldn’t think there would be a lot of variety in themRead More →
reading journal update
2020-05-11
I finished listening to Wheel of Time Book 5: The Fires of Heaven over the weekend. I think I’m going to take a break and maybe listen to something shorter. Like any other book out there. I say that because I was going to immediately download the next book in the WOT series but didn’t. Yet. Because the next one, Lord of Chaos, is so big Audible feels the need to divide it into five parts. My brain needs a break. Which it kind of got anyway because I was in the mood to reread Dark Light by Jayne Castle (AKA Krentz), one of herRead More →
Ten Nights of Love: 2010s
2020-05-06
I took a completely different approach writing this one so an alternate title for this post might be: who do I (still) read (and why/why not) after ten years? Grace Livingston Hill No way. Ain’t happening. Just too much description Emilie Loring No. But. Okay, sometimes wish I could read something contemporary like hers. I think it’s the high society element. But, I’m just not sure how that would work nowadays. Glenna Finley I have to admit that I do have a thing for the travelogue element found in her books. So, yeah, maybe. Julie Garwood I have to be in a certain mood. And IRead More →
Ten Nights of Love: Cover Gallery
2020-04-29
originally posted on February 14, 2010 When I first came up with idea of doing this Ten Nights of Love series of posts, I wanted to find something to illustrate them and the obvious choice was the books. As I sorted through my collection, though, I realized that they also showed a lifetime of changes in the covers themselves. So, I wanted to see a gallery of one cover for each author in one post and thought you might enjoy it, too. I included Ten Nights of Love just to keep things even although I may have sort of cheated elsewhere for the purposes of showing an early electronic cover. 😉Read More →
classic musical storytelling
2020-04-24
I’m really weird about music. When I’m working, I tend to like to listen to instrumentals so there are no words distracting me. But when I’m in the mood to listen to words I tend to like story songs. Across a lot of genres. If it’s a good story with appropriate music, I’m sold. Ghost Riders in the Sky has always been a favorite of mine. Especially the original as sung by Burl Ives. Perfection. Also of interest: Stampede Mesa: The Story Behind “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”Read More →
Ten Nights of Love: Overview & Afterthoughts
2020-04-22
originally posted on February 15, 2010 My ever so logical brain wouldn’t let me ignore posting a list of chronological links for this entire Ten Nights of Love series for future reference. Following that, you’ll find a few thoughts that crossed my mind as I made this journey through the years. First, here’s the full list of posts in order: The Introduction Grace Livingston Hill Emilie Loring Glenna Finley Julie Garwood Amanda Quick Dara Joy Stephanie Laurens Christine Feehan Linnea Sinclair Shelly Laurenston Cover Gallery Now for my overall thoughts completely unrelated to individual authors and simply about the journey I just took. I findRead More →
surviving the Empire
2020-04-17
And surviving staying at home. Well, mostly. Between recurring gallbladder symptoms and computer problems, I haven’t gotten a lot of writing done for the site. So, I’m falling back to an old standby and doing quick links. Some of them will be shared from apps on my phone so they will be very bare bones. But I am determined to get back in the groove. Recently I got in the mood to watch the entire original Star Wars trilogy. It is so good. The word classic doesn’t even do it justice. I think timeless might be a better description. It’s simply the Star Wars. Also my sonRead More →
Ten Nights of Love: Shelly Laurenston
2020-04-15
originally posted on February 13, 2010 who to pick next? For most of Ten Nights of Love, I automatically knew who the various authors were going to be. All I had to do was make sure I arranged them in chronological order to tell the story. For this last author, I kind of knew, roughly, why I was including her but wasn’t sure who to use. You see, a couple of years ago, I actively started dipping my toe into the so-called erotic romance sub-genre. Heck, my entire foot. I call it “so-called” because I’m still not entirely convinced that all the books with thatRead More →
Ten Nights of Love: Linnea Sinclair
2020-04-08
originally posted on February 12, 2010 those early e-book covers are fun Next up here I have a special treat. I was digging around some old electronic files recently. And I found some things that I treasure almost as much as some of my old paperbacks. A lot of people nowadays know about a book called Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair. But do they know about or have the original story that appeared as an e-book called Command Performance? From before she made it to the big time in print? I do, plus several of her other books in their original e-book form. 😀 divingRead More →