A few who choose the winner will win a free book. Good luck!
Number 1
23 May 2012
Help pick a book cover
Below are the three candidates for my book cover for Killed in Kruger. You can vote by commenting here or by going to my facebook page. The one with the most votes will be my cover and a Want to help me pick a book cover?
A few who choose the winner will win a free book. Good luck!
Number 1
Number 2
Number 3
A few who choose the winner will win a free book. Good luck!
Number 1
21 May 2012
Reading adventures
Today I had to take the train and the metro to get to the doctor's office. It was one of those May days that dips back into early chilly spring instead of bordering on summer. I wore a long full skirt thinking it would be warm, then needed a rain jacket. The overall effect I'm afraid might have been slightly bag lady what with my hair flying out of the clip with the help of the wind. Or worse yet, slightly square, spongebob-ish.
But it was an oddly delightful reading expedition. I should preface it by saying I've read a lot of books this year that were underwhelming. In a sort of vague dissatisfaction, I picked up a REAL book that my mom had recommended. It's from 1954 and I'd barely gotten started in it before today. It's written first person and has a growing sense of disquiet and building suspense.
Despite needing to go to the doctor, I was looking forward to the train ride. It's about 35 minutes and felt like it was only a few minutes today. I was so immersed in my book, I just looked up and suddenly we were at the main station.
I tucked my book back in my oversize bag and headed for the Metro. My two tickets were both expired and I had to spring for another pass. In one of those lovely synchronicity moments, I got the ticket, swiped through the gates and made a train as the beeps were sounding to close the doors. Amazingly, there was a seat. Out came my book. I enjoyed the lightness of it. My ipad while I enjoy reading on it, traveling from train to train and trying to continue to read is unwieldy and requires two hands, partly because of a built in keyboard in the cover.
I nearly missed my station where I needed to switch trains I was so into my book. I did that weird thing where I stood up thinking it was too late. I hesitated a moment longer and suddenly flung myself off the train at the ultimate moment. While it made my heart race, there was something satisfying to having made it. Maybe a hint spy like. I simply held my book in my hand and found my next platform.
I got a seat on the next train - just as amazing. This time I was a little paranoid about missing my stop. I'd made up my mind to go to the more distant metro stop and find my way to the doctor's office from a new direction. I get a kick out of figuring out new neighborhoods. I glanced up from reading and noticed a familiar name so I got off the train. It was my normal stop for the doctor's office! I guess I just couldn't keep my concentration with the book and the stops. When I have my ipad on the train, I'm always consumed with getting it back in my bag safely before I transfer stations.
I was early so I ducked into a Starbucks and got a caramel steamer and sat in a sunny spot reading and watching the ritzy families go by with the children all in their private school uniforms and doggies(fox wire hairs, poodles, and tiny french bulldogs) who'd gone to pick up the kids from school too.
Then I went to the doctor's office and had to wait (yeah! more read time!). Apparently it was urology hour for one of the other docs because I was surrounded by dapper old Spanish gentlemen. During this part of my book an apparent stalker starts surfacing -- with a trademark whistling. Someone in the hall outside the doctor's office started whistling. It was a huge thrill to have my book coming to life around me.
I sat my beverage on the doctor's desk as we talked. Yeah, he told me no dairy. I didn't volunteer what was in my cup but he asked eventually. Busted. Blah, blah, blah, And I'm on my way to the train again. A man asks me in Spanish where the Metro is and I'm able to understand AND tell him where. Cool.
I saw a tiny, tiny grandma walking a grandaughter home from school on my way back to the Metro. The little grandaughter - obviously gradeschool, maybe 3rd grade was up past nana's shoulder. I got a seat and read on the way back to the big train station. Saw a nun eating a pastry in the station. The train was super crowded. I was in the awkward position of center entry way with no polls to hold onto. So I surfed and read -- I would never try that with my ipad. After two stops, I got a seat in the doorway. The sunlight slanted across my book and it was good.
But it was an oddly delightful reading expedition. I should preface it by saying I've read a lot of books this year that were underwhelming. In a sort of vague dissatisfaction, I picked up a REAL book that my mom had recommended. It's from 1954 and I'd barely gotten started in it before today. It's written first person and has a growing sense of disquiet and building suspense.
Despite needing to go to the doctor, I was looking forward to the train ride. It's about 35 minutes and felt like it was only a few minutes today. I was so immersed in my book, I just looked up and suddenly we were at the main station.
I tucked my book back in my oversize bag and headed for the Metro. My two tickets were both expired and I had to spring for another pass. In one of those lovely synchronicity moments, I got the ticket, swiped through the gates and made a train as the beeps were sounding to close the doors. Amazingly, there was a seat. Out came my book. I enjoyed the lightness of it. My ipad while I enjoy reading on it, traveling from train to train and trying to continue to read is unwieldy and requires two hands, partly because of a built in keyboard in the cover.
I nearly missed my station where I needed to switch trains I was so into my book. I did that weird thing where I stood up thinking it was too late. I hesitated a moment longer and suddenly flung myself off the train at the ultimate moment. While it made my heart race, there was something satisfying to having made it. Maybe a hint spy like. I simply held my book in my hand and found my next platform.
I got a seat on the next train - just as amazing. This time I was a little paranoid about missing my stop. I'd made up my mind to go to the more distant metro stop and find my way to the doctor's office from a new direction. I get a kick out of figuring out new neighborhoods. I glanced up from reading and noticed a familiar name so I got off the train. It was my normal stop for the doctor's office! I guess I just couldn't keep my concentration with the book and the stops. When I have my ipad on the train, I'm always consumed with getting it back in my bag safely before I transfer stations.
I was early so I ducked into a Starbucks and got a caramel steamer and sat in a sunny spot reading and watching the ritzy families go by with the children all in their private school uniforms and doggies(fox wire hairs, poodles, and tiny french bulldogs) who'd gone to pick up the kids from school too.
Then I went to the doctor's office and had to wait (yeah! more read time!). Apparently it was urology hour for one of the other docs because I was surrounded by dapper old Spanish gentlemen. During this part of my book an apparent stalker starts surfacing -- with a trademark whistling. Someone in the hall outside the doctor's office started whistling. It was a huge thrill to have my book coming to life around me.
I sat my beverage on the doctor's desk as we talked. Yeah, he told me no dairy. I didn't volunteer what was in my cup but he asked eventually. Busted. Blah, blah, blah, And I'm on my way to the train again. A man asks me in Spanish where the Metro is and I'm able to understand AND tell him where. Cool.
I saw a tiny, tiny grandma walking a grandaughter home from school on my way back to the Metro. The little grandaughter - obviously gradeschool, maybe 3rd grade was up past nana's shoulder. I got a seat and read on the way back to the big train station. Saw a nun eating a pastry in the station. The train was super crowded. I was in the awkward position of center entry way with no polls to hold onto. So I surfed and read -- I would never try that with my ipad. After two stops, I got a seat in the doorway. The sunlight slanted across my book and it was good.
03 May 2012
Crank it up
I was driving recently with the wind pouring in the window and a song I remembered from childhood came on the radio so I cranked it up. This is one of my favorite things to do. Drive windows down, destroying any hair alignment I might have made that day, and loud music. Love it!
I noticed that song I was listening to from the 70s, a Bee Gees tune I think, sounded pretty good and had some parts I'd never noticed before. How is that possible? Songs like these have been on the radio in my hearing more times than I can count, so how I can I notice a new part?
When I was a kid my parents listened to the radio, but generally at a staid normal volume. I do remember a few times riding with my dad when he would crank it up on a song or two he really liked and sometimes when he pulled in the drive way after work he'd be jamming to something, but in general it was always civilized volumes. I obviously take after my dad in this department with my tendency to want to crank the tunes.
Also I had a bedside radio but didn't dare crank it up for fear of having the radio taken away as punishment when I was young. As a teenager, I'd push the volume up when no one was home and enjoy myself, but there are a lot of songs I have never heard loud.
As an adult, I've lived all but seven years in multi-family dwellings where being a kind and self conscious family we keep the volume pretty minimal trying not to bother others. This is my husband's doing as I'd probably forget and crank it unknowingly if someone didn't help me pay attention. So really and truly the car is the one place I rock out and then only when I'm on my own normally. Ahh, guilty pleasures. I've discovered the ipod is a great opportunity to crank the volume without bothering others, but I have a fear of singing along and looking ridiculous which open car windows and racing wind help me overcome.
The other interesting thing about volume is what I'm experiencing living in Spain at the moment. We are tightly packed in living conditions where I am and yet there is no self consciousness about volume. I wonder if they've all grown up sandwiched together so if you want to sing loud, or practice an instrument, or have the radio on the patio -- well that's as good a place as any. And if there's a party -- watch out -- they will indeed crank up the volume until the wee hours.
I noticed that song I was listening to from the 70s, a Bee Gees tune I think, sounded pretty good and had some parts I'd never noticed before. How is that possible? Songs like these have been on the radio in my hearing more times than I can count, so how I can I notice a new part?
When I was a kid my parents listened to the radio, but generally at a staid normal volume. I do remember a few times riding with my dad when he would crank it up on a song or two he really liked and sometimes when he pulled in the drive way after work he'd be jamming to something, but in general it was always civilized volumes. I obviously take after my dad in this department with my tendency to want to crank the tunes.
Also I had a bedside radio but didn't dare crank it up for fear of having the radio taken away as punishment when I was young. As a teenager, I'd push the volume up when no one was home and enjoy myself, but there are a lot of songs I have never heard loud.
As an adult, I've lived all but seven years in multi-family dwellings where being a kind and self conscious family we keep the volume pretty minimal trying not to bother others. This is my husband's doing as I'd probably forget and crank it unknowingly if someone didn't help me pay attention. So really and truly the car is the one place I rock out and then only when I'm on my own normally. Ahh, guilty pleasures. I've discovered the ipod is a great opportunity to crank the volume without bothering others, but I have a fear of singing along and looking ridiculous which open car windows and racing wind help me overcome.
The other interesting thing about volume is what I'm experiencing living in Spain at the moment. We are tightly packed in living conditions where I am and yet there is no self consciousness about volume. I wonder if they've all grown up sandwiched together so if you want to sing loud, or practice an instrument, or have the radio on the patio -- well that's as good a place as any. And if there's a party -- watch out -- they will indeed crank up the volume until the wee hours.
21 April 2012
100 Foods To Eat Before You Die
My blog is based on this blog and what I saw on facebook too -- Credit where credit is due:
The Daily Dish: 100 Foods To Eat Before You Die: Happy New Year! For the first post of 2012 I thought I would share this food list challenge (I found via facebook) of the 100 foods to eat ...
My thoughts --
This was very fun to see and take my own personal challenge. I believe I'm at 70 items on the list and not in old age yet. More time. But a couple of the items I probably will never try. Durian I think is that fruit that smells like something rotting - probably I'm not going to feel compelled to try.
Often I'm the taster and my husband is the eat the full plate of something exotic, so that has given me more tastes than maybe I would have had.
I find that I am sorely lacking in the exotic Asian food department and I do like Indian and Asian foods, so I'm not sure how that happened.
Honestly, I'm not sure how some of these things made it on the list. Some I've had and I still don't know why they're on the list. (Frito pie?) I've crossed off everything I've eaten. But a fun diversion when I should be going to bed!
2. Absinthe
3. Alligator
4. Baba Ghanoush
5. Bagel & Lox
6. Baklava
7. BBQ Ribs
8. Bellini
9. Birds Nest Soup (maybe at a Dim Sum party once?)
10. Biscuits & Gravy
12. Black Truffle
14. Calamari
15. Carp (In Missouri, this is what you throw back when your fishing.)
17. Cheese Fondue
18. Chicken & Waffles
19. Chicken Tikka Masala
20. Chile Relleno
22. Churros (Spain)
23. Clam Chowder
24. Cognac
25. Crab Cakes
26. Crickets
27. Currywurst
28. Dandelion Wine
29. Dulce De Leche (Spain)
30. Durian
31. Eel
32. Eggs Benedict
33. Fish Tacos
35. Fresh Spring Rolls (from a Philipina friend)
36. Fried Catfish (caught ourselves)
37. Fried Green Tomatoes
38. Fried Plantain
41. Fugu
42. Funnel Cake
43. Gazpacho (Believe it or not, I have not)
45. Goat's Milk (I've had cheese. Does that count?)
47. Gumbo
49. Head Cheese
50. Heirloom Tomatoes
53. Huevos Rancheros
54. Jerk Chicken
56. Key Lime Pie (homemade by my Dad)
57. Kobe Beef
58. Lassi (homemade by a South American friend)
59. Lobster (on the beach)
60. Mimosa
63. Nettle Tea
66. Paella (Spain)
67. Paneer
68. Pastrami on Rye
69. Pavlova
70. Phaal
71. Philly Cheese Steak
72. Pho
73. Pineapple & Cottage Cheese(not together)
74. Pistachio Ice Cream
77. Polenta (had it out and made it too)
78. Prickly Pear
80. Raw Oysters
81. Root Beer Float
82. S'mores
83. Sauerkraut
84. Sea Urchin
88. Soft Shell Crab
89. Som Tam
90. Spaetzle
92. Squirrel
93. Steak Tartare (tasted the husband's)
94. Sweet Potato Fries
95. Sweetbreads
96. Tom Yum
97. Umeboshi
100. Zucchini Flowers
24 March 2012
Technology reading revolution, poke, poke
Have you seen the video of the baby playing with a phone or an ipad? I also saw one of a baby looking at a magazine and when she poked the pictures and they didn't do anything she cried. This generation won't have a concept of a mouse and maybe not even a keyboard. Things they are a changing.
After one year with an ipad and ebooks, I find some of my own habits are changing. I go back and forth between and ipad and a macbook. I know the difference. It's clearly not possible to use the computer as a touch screen yet without thinking I pull up a web page and reach up and tap the screen of my computer.
I've also had trouble finding the place I want to put my cursor in a document and reached up and tap to move to the location I want. I know with my conscious brain that it doesn't work, but some part of me is on automatic pilot and does it anyway. Yes, people will laugh at you if they see you do this.
While I'm reading an ebook, I particularly enjoy being able to tap a word and have the definition pop up. You don't need that very often but it's a fun way to find a new word. If I'm reading a paper book, I confess I am not ambitious enough to lay down my book and go find a dictionary to learn the true definition of the new or unfamiliar word. I just infer it from the context and keep moving. Now I have not yet actually tapped a word in a paper book for the definition but I will admit that I have unclasped the book from my hand and hovered over it for a second before I realized what I was doing. Yes, you can laugh.
I had a habit in the past of just keeping the page number I stopeed reading a book on in my head. When I picked up the book, I flipped to that page and kept going. The ebook keeps track for you (unless you switch to your phonee and then back then you'll have to search without the aid of page numbers). For some reason since I've started with ebooks, I find it hard to keep my page number in my head for my paper book reading. Although it is just possible that this has something to do with a busy job, learning a foreign language, and...getting older.
27 February 2012
It's not a tumor
I recently did an online search for mouth cancer on WebMD. A very serious thing to do, right? I've had a really weird symptom that I'm going to spare you from here and not describe, but it had been going on for over a year. I'd mentioned it to my dentist. He didn't have a solution that was last year. It seemed like it was getting worse so I resorted to the (scary music insert here) the internet.
Now, I don't know about you, but I can be a bit of a hypochondriac so I generally avoid medical websites and especially medical television shows. In 10th grade, I thought I needed to go to the emergency room by the time I got done reading the segment for science on how lungs function.
In college we had a campus nurse who jumped to drastic conclusions and it became a joke the whole time we were there. My inquiry over whether I might be having some appendicitis pains brought a suggestion of female organ cancer from the school nurse. A friend of mine with headaches saw the nurse who tried to get er to see the doctor because it might be an aneurism. Really? I was hoping you could give me some Tylenol. This was the 80s and Arnold Schwarzenegger was renown for a silly movie in which he said, "It's not a tumor." (Kindergarten Cop). So we took to saying this line a lot.
So when I went to WebMD, I was really concerned about my weird symptoms or I really wouldn't go there. I got nothing other than a confirmation that I have no symptoms of mouth cancer. I tried quite a few descriptions of my symptoms. Nothing.
In desperation after exhausting a few medical sites, I did a general internet search. It took me to a lay person blog. I will not link to it because frankly the discussion was disgusting. Hilarious but disgusting. In the end, I discovered hundreds of people on this website had the same problem. As a medically uneducated group, they'd come to the conclusion that they were allergic to teeth whitening toothpaste. I figured, what the heck? I'll try it. My symptoms were gone after a toothpaste switch avoiding teeth whitening options. Amazing - thought I'd have to live with this for the rest of my life.
The thing I find humorous is that probably without a serious medical study no one official is going to say, hey, some people have allergies and weird symptoms from whitening products. But a bunch of people can get together on a blog, complain and find a solution.
I have a friend who has kidney stones. She swears each month, ahem, they act up at a certain time. Doctors all say no way. Sure enough she found a blog -- hundreds of women saying the same thing - kidney stone flare up once a month corresponding with being a girl. So a consensus of people can affirm each other when medical science is not ready to talk. Interesting.
Now, I don't know about you, but I can be a bit of a hypochondriac so I generally avoid medical websites and especially medical television shows. In 10th grade, I thought I needed to go to the emergency room by the time I got done reading the segment for science on how lungs function.
In college we had a campus nurse who jumped to drastic conclusions and it became a joke the whole time we were there. My inquiry over whether I might be having some appendicitis pains brought a suggestion of female organ cancer from the school nurse. A friend of mine with headaches saw the nurse who tried to get er to see the doctor because it might be an aneurism. Really? I was hoping you could give me some Tylenol. This was the 80s and Arnold Schwarzenegger was renown for a silly movie in which he said, "It's not a tumor." (Kindergarten Cop). So we took to saying this line a lot.
So when I went to WebMD, I was really concerned about my weird symptoms or I really wouldn't go there. I got nothing other than a confirmation that I have no symptoms of mouth cancer. I tried quite a few descriptions of my symptoms. Nothing.
In desperation after exhausting a few medical sites, I did a general internet search. It took me to a lay person blog. I will not link to it because frankly the discussion was disgusting. Hilarious but disgusting. In the end, I discovered hundreds of people on this website had the same problem. As a medically uneducated group, they'd come to the conclusion that they were allergic to teeth whitening toothpaste. I figured, what the heck? I'll try it. My symptoms were gone after a toothpaste switch avoiding teeth whitening options. Amazing - thought I'd have to live with this for the rest of my life.
The thing I find humorous is that probably without a serious medical study no one official is going to say, hey, some people have allergies and weird symptoms from whitening products. But a bunch of people can get together on a blog, complain and find a solution.
I have a friend who has kidney stones. She swears each month, ahem, they act up at a certain time. Doctors all say no way. Sure enough she found a blog -- hundreds of women saying the same thing - kidney stone flare up once a month corresponding with being a girl. So a consensus of people can affirm each other when medical science is not ready to talk. Interesting.
09 February 2012
Facial recognition. Cool or Creepy?
I went and saw the latest Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol and regardless of whether you liked it or not I saw something interesting in the opening scene. An agent is trying to find someone in a crowd, but he hasn't as in olden days studied the person so much he can pick him out even in a crowd. He has a way to scan the entire crowd with his phone and that identifies the target. Wild and crazy, right? Handy for agents anyway.
Then I saw this completely serious article that is a discussion of the privacy concerns of facial recognition. I realized as I started reading that there are already sites like Flickr and Facebook using facial recognition software.
I started thinking are the days of privacy winding down to an end. Will we give up anonymity for security in finding the latest bad guy?
Even more interesting, will we give up our opportunity of anonymity for convenience? After all, isn't it handy when Facebook finds the person and says start typing the name to tag the person. You don't have to do all the work of a graphic artist just to show your friends the picture you took of them last night.
I don't have any plot items in mind, but it seems that I am not alone in thinking the idea of facial recognition can be abused a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission is asking questions too. I wonder if you could include in a Sci-Fi story that detective use facial recognition to catch cheating spouses via the internet or tapping into security camera networks. I could see a plot point where government agents gone bad hunt people on the run.
I haven't read anything using this in the story line but I'm sure I will.
No more blending into the crowd, huh?
Then I saw this completely serious article that is a discussion of the privacy concerns of facial recognition. I realized as I started reading that there are already sites like Flickr and Facebook using facial recognition software.
I started thinking are the days of privacy winding down to an end. Will we give up anonymity for security in finding the latest bad guy?
Even more interesting, will we give up our opportunity of anonymity for convenience? After all, isn't it handy when Facebook finds the person and says start typing the name to tag the person. You don't have to do all the work of a graphic artist just to show your friends the picture you took of them last night.
I don't have any plot items in mind, but it seems that I am not alone in thinking the idea of facial recognition can be abused a staff attorney at the Federal Trade Commission is asking questions too. I wonder if you could include in a Sci-Fi story that detective use facial recognition to catch cheating spouses via the internet or tapping into security camera networks. I could see a plot point where government agents gone bad hunt people on the run.
I haven't read anything using this in the story line but I'm sure I will.
No more blending into the crowd, huh?
20 January 2012
Painting damaged by drunk lady's butt
So I first saw this headline and thought, "Oh, poor dumb drunk lady. She had one too many and was in a crowded gallery. She must have brushed up against some artists' painting with her sequins or something."
Oh, how innocent I am. No, this lady was drunk and angry and these were paintings valued at $30 mil! Now we've all been angry, but this lady must have some kind of chemical reaction with alcohol to reach these heights, or ahem, should I saw lows. I'd wonder if she dated the artist, but he's been dead since 1980.
Also this was not a gallery showing it was a museum. I'm betting they think twice before they serve alcohol to the patrons again.
So the shocking thing is this lady didn't just get inebriated and bump into a painting, she actually dropped trou and put some effort into this even perhaps forgetting anatomy lessons of the past and trying to urinate on it. Really? You're a girl. The painting is not bothering you.
I don't know that I particularly like abstract expressionism either but after all it is just paint on canvas. Losing ones britches and, uh, rubbing oneself on a painting seems like going a little far. It doesn't say, but I have to admit I'm curious what the museum security guards do in a case like this. Making half naked ladies stop rubbing paintings with their derriere=awkward day on the job.
All of this buys her a charge of felony criminal mischief. Mischief indeed. Keep your pants on!
Article
Oh, how innocent I am. No, this lady was drunk and angry and these were paintings valued at $30 mil! Now we've all been angry, but this lady must have some kind of chemical reaction with alcohol to reach these heights, or ahem, should I saw lows. I'd wonder if she dated the artist, but he's been dead since 1980.
Also this was not a gallery showing it was a museum. I'm betting they think twice before they serve alcohol to the patrons again.
So the shocking thing is this lady didn't just get inebriated and bump into a painting, she actually dropped trou and put some effort into this even perhaps forgetting anatomy lessons of the past and trying to urinate on it. Really? You're a girl. The painting is not bothering you.
I don't know that I particularly like abstract expressionism either but after all it is just paint on canvas. Losing ones britches and, uh, rubbing oneself on a painting seems like going a little far. It doesn't say, but I have to admit I'm curious what the museum security guards do in a case like this. Making half naked ladies stop rubbing paintings with their derriere=awkward day on the job.
All of this buys her a charge of felony criminal mischief. Mischief indeed. Keep your pants on!
Article
03 January 2012
Sherlock and tradition
So do you like originals, the traditional, the classics? Does the new and innovative, the different, get you jazzed?
I went to see the The Dark Shadow this weekend. The second of the "new" Sherlock movies. Disclaimer: I suspend my disbelief easily. I had a good time. I enjoyed both these new Sherlock movies. My mother on the other hand hated the first one and no doubt will not be attending the second. She likes Sherlock old school style.
I have watched the old Jeremy Brett Sherlock interpretations, black and white versions from days before I was born, I've watched PBS versions and I've enjoyed myself. This is also true of another old friend, Hercule Poirot from Agatha. I've also read books by these greats of mystery and enjoyed them.
While I have no doubt the authors, were they alive, would have all kinds of opinions on the interpretations of their characters, I wonder does it always have to be the original to be good? I have a feeling our Sherlockian purist friends out there are not impressed by this modern version of Sherlock. Yet I hear the echo of those original books in him to some extent. To give the producers of the movie credit, there's no way to please everyone, so you just gotta jump in the water. (pun intended if you've seen the film).
It begs two questions. 1. Is only the original legit? and 2. Who says which one is the original?
A similar debate is raging in certain church circles too. Music traditional or new? It seems like the two sides square off quite forcefully on the tradition and new debate whether they are inside the church or out. People have strong opinions.
I have to ask as someone who can take a story for what it is or a song for that matter, can we not have it both ways? Does this make me wishy-washy? I can watch the old versions of Sherlock and enjoy a good story. I can watch the new one and enjoy a good story. For me it's just another version, another interpretation. Maybe it's just taste and these suit mine. Even when my brain says, Hercule is too fat, or Sherlock is too buff, it's the story that keeps me. I like plot.
The debate perhaps boils down to: is it a good story, or a good song or not? Though a certain amount of that is in the eye of the beholder and whether you were able to suspend your sense of doubt and skepticism long enough to watch. Or whether that song said something to you that clicked deep inside.
It renews my sense of wanting to write a good story with good characters and for people to engage with it!
I went to see the The Dark Shadow this weekend. The second of the "new" Sherlock movies. Disclaimer: I suspend my disbelief easily. I had a good time. I enjoyed both these new Sherlock movies. My mother on the other hand hated the first one and no doubt will not be attending the second. She likes Sherlock old school style.
I have watched the old Jeremy Brett Sherlock interpretations, black and white versions from days before I was born, I've watched PBS versions and I've enjoyed myself. This is also true of another old friend, Hercule Poirot from Agatha. I've also read books by these greats of mystery and enjoyed them.
While I have no doubt the authors, were they alive, would have all kinds of opinions on the interpretations of their characters, I wonder does it always have to be the original to be good? I have a feeling our Sherlockian purist friends out there are not impressed by this modern version of Sherlock. Yet I hear the echo of those original books in him to some extent. To give the producers of the movie credit, there's no way to please everyone, so you just gotta jump in the water. (pun intended if you've seen the film).
It begs two questions. 1. Is only the original legit? and 2. Who says which one is the original?
A similar debate is raging in certain church circles too. Music traditional or new? It seems like the two sides square off quite forcefully on the tradition and new debate whether they are inside the church or out. People have strong opinions.
I have to ask as someone who can take a story for what it is or a song for that matter, can we not have it both ways? Does this make me wishy-washy? I can watch the old versions of Sherlock and enjoy a good story. I can watch the new one and enjoy a good story. For me it's just another version, another interpretation. Maybe it's just taste and these suit mine. Even when my brain says, Hercule is too fat, or Sherlock is too buff, it's the story that keeps me. I like plot.
The debate perhaps boils down to: is it a good story, or a good song or not? Though a certain amount of that is in the eye of the beholder and whether you were able to suspend your sense of doubt and skepticism long enough to watch. Or whether that song said something to you that clicked deep inside.
It renews my sense of wanting to write a good story with good characters and for people to engage with it!
02 January 2012
Ebook impact on my reading
So in 2011 I took the plunge into ebook land. It was premeditated because I knew I would be moving to a place where English books would be hard to find and expensive. I chose the ipad because it also worked as essentially an extra laptop in the house, and it has some usefulness in my day job as well.
My first book was a free classic. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by one of our grand dames Agatha Christie. Enjoyed it just as much digitally as I've enjoyed her work on paper. I went to see if all of her books were free in ebook form only to get my first lesson in ebook marketing. Make the first one free, hook them, then charge full price.
I was a bit frustrated when I looked for specific books and didn't find them in the Apple Ibookstore. It also was hard to just browse. I think I should try to browse from Itunes and I'd enjoy it more. I was delightted to discover that Nook and Kindle have Apps for the ipad which opened up a whole new world. I now feel like I can visit different bookstores depending on what gift certificates I have or what mood I'm in or where an author makes their work available. I'm not limited.
I tried some different books that I wouldn't have risked money on when I experimented with booklending.com that lends via the Kindle. A little weird to figure out but then the books appeared on my app. I also borrowed a couple I couldn't finish. A rarity for me. I have not tried - yet - the library lending programs yet. I did download Overdrive but my home town library changed systems before I could borrow, so on to yet another app. Library borrowing: a blog for another day.
When I finish reading a book now, I have the internal debate of what's next. Paper or ebook? I don't want to deplete my paper shelves too quickly. I also consider how much am I going on the train or am I going to go to a Spanish tutoring class. If I'm going to class, which means the train and taking notes in class, I'll have my ipad anyway, so it's better not to add a book to the load. I am jealous of others on the train with a Kindle. It's much smaller and can be handled with one hand which I can't manage with my ipad. The weight of the ipad makes me think twice about dragging it with me everywhere. I have to get bigger purses and stronger shoulders if it is going to go automatically with me. The good news is I just downloaded the Kindle app to my phone, so I can read there too without taking the ipad. This makes me a bit more inclined to buy my books on Amazon, but I think I may have a nook app available for te phone too. I need to see if I can see my ibook cloud on my phone (not an iphone, so I doubt it.)In general I think I'm buying more on Amazon.
Something I enjoy in ebooks is that I can tap a word to get a definition instantly without leaving my book. I love this. I always read books and thought I should look that word up (Thanks, Elizabeth George), but then I didn't want to interrupt my reading to go do it. I also like marking great passages or turns of phrase that are good characterization. I don't like to deface paper books, so it's nice to mark things without the sense I'm making a mess in my book. I'm not good with straight lines or tiny printing in the margins, what can I say?
Here's an idea that would never have occurred to me pre-ebook. I might try to find a Spanish book as part of my journey of learning the language. If I can do the word look up thing, like I do in English, it would be a great learning experience. Maybe. Might be too much work in the end and reading is after all my mental release and recreation.
My first book was a free classic. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by one of our grand dames Agatha Christie. Enjoyed it just as much digitally as I've enjoyed her work on paper. I went to see if all of her books were free in ebook form only to get my first lesson in ebook marketing. Make the first one free, hook them, then charge full price.
I was a bit frustrated when I looked for specific books and didn't find them in the Apple Ibookstore. It also was hard to just browse. I think I should try to browse from Itunes and I'd enjoy it more. I was delightted to discover that Nook and Kindle have Apps for the ipad which opened up a whole new world. I now feel like I can visit different bookstores depending on what gift certificates I have or what mood I'm in or where an author makes their work available. I'm not limited.
I tried some different books that I wouldn't have risked money on when I experimented with booklending.com that lends via the Kindle. A little weird to figure out but then the books appeared on my app. I also borrowed a couple I couldn't finish. A rarity for me. I have not tried - yet - the library lending programs yet. I did download Overdrive but my home town library changed systems before I could borrow, so on to yet another app. Library borrowing: a blog for another day.
When I finish reading a book now, I have the internal debate of what's next. Paper or ebook? I don't want to deplete my paper shelves too quickly. I also consider how much am I going on the train or am I going to go to a Spanish tutoring class. If I'm going to class, which means the train and taking notes in class, I'll have my ipad anyway, so it's better not to add a book to the load. I am jealous of others on the train with a Kindle. It's much smaller and can be handled with one hand which I can't manage with my ipad. The weight of the ipad makes me think twice about dragging it with me everywhere. I have to get bigger purses and stronger shoulders if it is going to go automatically with me. The good news is I just downloaded the Kindle app to my phone, so I can read there too without taking the ipad. This makes me a bit more inclined to buy my books on Amazon, but I think I may have a nook app available for te phone too. I need to see if I can see my ibook cloud on my phone (not an iphone, so I doubt it.)In general I think I'm buying more on Amazon.
Something I enjoy in ebooks is that I can tap a word to get a definition instantly without leaving my book. I love this. I always read books and thought I should look that word up (Thanks, Elizabeth George), but then I didn't want to interrupt my reading to go do it. I also like marking great passages or turns of phrase that are good characterization. I don't like to deface paper books, so it's nice to mark things without the sense I'm making a mess in my book. I'm not good with straight lines or tiny printing in the margins, what can I say?
Here's an idea that would never have occurred to me pre-ebook. I might try to find a Spanish book as part of my journey of learning the language. If I can do the word look up thing, like I do in English, it would be a great learning experience. Maybe. Might be too much work in the end and reading is after all my mental release and recreation.
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