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I just spent the last ten days in Trenton, NJ with Stephanie Plum, Joe Morelli, Ranger, Grandma Mazur, Lula and Bob. What a wonderful little world Janet Evanovich has created with her novels. I read all 14 books and the 3 holiday novellas -- for the second time. The first 11 books and Visions of Sugar Plums were read right after Boo was born so I didn't remember a lot of the stories (though they do run together after a few) so for the most part it was like reading them for the first time. Favorite book(s): One For the Money -- I love how Morelli was brought back into Stephanie's life and the introductions of all of the characters. I laughed at how different Ranger is in that book. Not very mysterious at all and sort of wimpy (at least in my mind's eye). Four to Score -- I liked the pace of this book and the fact that we finally see Morelli and Steph acting on the attraction. I'm a BIG Morelli fan. *g* Fearless Fourteen -- I won't give away anything since the book only came out last month, but I really believe this is probably the best of all of them. Most importantly I love the way Janet wrote Joe's character as well as his and Steph's interaction. Plus there were a lot of laughs. Plum Lucky -- OMG I don't even know where to begin with this one. Seriously. I laughed the whole way through the book and was left with wanting more when I finished. One can never have enough Diesel. Thank goodness Plum Spooky is going to be a full length Between the Numbers book because I'll need a huge Diesel fix by then and it's set during Halloween...so if you hear lots of squeeing coming from Pennsylvania in January you'll know why. It's just too bad that Diesel won't be in any of the numbered books (I asked over at her website) because I'm really tired of Steph not being able to choose between Morelli and Ranger. Why not insert some new blood into the mix. *g* Twelve Sharp, Lean Mean Thirteen and Plum Lovin' are honorable mentions. Least favorite book(s):Hard Eight -- I'd probably like it more if it weren't for a certain scene where Ranger collects on Steph's "debts". Twelve Sharp -- I know I have it as an honorable mention in my favorites, but there's a bit in there with Ranger and Stephanie before Joe decides to move into Steph's place (and it's a good thing he did!!!!) that just bugs me and makes me dislike Ranger and want to slap Steph. Favorite character(s): Stephanie, Joe, Ranger, Grandma Mazur, Lula, Bob, Rex, Tank, Hal, Connie, Mooner, Sally Sweet and most definitely Diesel (yum!!!) Honorable mention goes to Steph's neighbors in her apartment building Least favorite character(s): Albert Kloughn, Valerie Plum, Vinnie Plum, Dickie Orr and Joyce Barnhardt Favorite pairing(s): Just the one...Stephanie and Joe Morelli. Joe's the man, hands down. Yes Ranger is dark, mysterious and sexy, but definitely not the settling down type. I think I love Joe the most because he's a man after my own heart -- beer and pizza are his food of choice and he watches hockey (even if it's the Rangers). Then of course there's the fact that he's adopted Bob and will take care of Rex when Stephanie's brought him over to the house. I just adore Steph and Joe's comfortableness together and how well they know one another. Then of course there's the one line that Joe says that has cemented it for me. When Steph asks him to take care of Rex if something happens to her, Joe tells her that he wouldn't be in any shape to take care of Rex because they'd have to strap him down and sedate him if something happened to her. He loves her -- and not "in his own way". I've decided that I want to be just like Stephanie when I grow up. I want to kick ass, take names and then maybe think about running away when an apprehension goes wrong. She's not fearless, but she's tenacious and determined. Really, Stephanie Plum is a fantastic female fictional character and we really don't have enough of those. It's too bad Tri-Star is being an idiot because I think they're really missing out on bringing these characters to the big, or small, screen. Is it January yet? Tags: authors: janet evanovich, books: stephanie plum series
current mood:  nerdy
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And I have the pin to prove it. SRSLY. The "inferno" of which I speak occurred during the wee hours of Sunday morning -- beginning at 6 AM. Yes, dear friends, I have now gone through a fire alarm in a Canadian hotel... three times. The 6 AM one confused the hell out of me because I thought my alarm was going off. It's a long beep, beep, beep type alarm. So once SoccerRef and I were coherent, we got out of bed, got dressed and then grabbed Boo who was not dealing with the loudness very well. We made the trek down the seven flights to the outside in time to see the fire company arrive. Boo thought that was the greatest thing ever. Me, not so much. After receiving the all clear, we went back up to our room and slept until I had to get up around 8 to go to a meeting. While we were in our meeting, about 9'ish, the alarm went off again. This time I was on the top floor, but with Canadian friends who explained that the first part of the alarm is just an attention type thing to alert you to a problem. The first alarm should have been followed by an announcement, but it wasn't. The second one was. My friends and fellow concom members explained that if it was really a problem, the beeps would be faster. These were still the slow ones that sounded like an alarm clock. Just as I started to relax a little, the beeps sped up indicating it was truly a problem and the announcement repeated over and over that there was an emergency and the fire company had been called. Wonderful. My first thoughts were about Boo and SoccerRef -- where were they? Were they okay? I wanted to cry because I hated being separated from my family during an emergency like that, but I had a job to do so I sucked it up and did what needed to be done. Once we were outside and had things under control, I texted SoccerRef to make sure he and Boo were fine. They were. It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. We were given the all clear to go back into the hotel, but not ten minutes later the alarm went off again. For the third time the fire company showed up -- this time the Fire Marshall pulled up as well. He looked none too happy and neither did anyone else, but I suppose being rousted out of bed first at six and then at nine after hours of partying the night before probably doesn't make for happy campers, ya know? The final all-clear was given and we went back inside again. This time we were told that it was a bad sensor. 'F' for fun. Oh yes. We managed to get the con started just a few minutes later than usual, but we were back on schedule in very short order. By late morning, one of the dealers who was selling pins at his table had made one that said "I survived the Polaris 22 inferno...three times!". It was brilliant on his part. I think every attendee, guest and concom member sported the pin by the end of the day. I felt like I was part of a fraternity -- a twisted, crazy fraternity. *g* Though I didn't find it funny while we were going through it, I'm finding it quite amusing now. However, that could just be the exhaustion talking. P.S. The icon is shareable for fellow "survivors". :D Tags: cons: polaris
current mood:  amused
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Dear Fans and Friends of Don S. Davis,
So many of you have been touched by not only the work and art of Don S. Davis, but by the man himself, who always took the time to be with you at the appearances he loved, that it is with a tremendous sense of loss I must share with you that Don passed away from a massive heart attack on Sunday morning, June 29th.
On behalf of his family and wife, Ruby, we thank you for your prayers and condolences. A family memorial where Don's ashes will be scattered in the ocean will take place in a few weeks, and should you wish to, please make a donation to the American Heart Association in Don's memory.
Julie Caitlin BrownI cannot tell you how sad this makes me. I was looking forward to meeting him at Dragon*Con this year because everyone who had met him in the past said what a wonderful gentleman he was. I've enjoyed his work and was always happy to see him grace my television screen, no matter what show he popped up in. The Sci-Fi world lost a great actor and a good man. Tags: in memorium: don s. davis
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Continuing to answer comments from my Blogging Meme post.From ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) angstchic: What are some things you are most passionate about as an individual?(Meaning outside your role at the job, as a mom, wife, etc.)I'm pretty passionate about several things, but I'd have to say politics ranks right up there. It all started when I was ten and my fourth grade class did a mock campaign, right down to having spokesmen (it was the early 80's we were all men *g*) for each candidate. I was chosen as a spokesman for Reagan. I spent weeks cutting out and reading newspaper articles that were about him. I didn't always understand what I was reading, but I really liked him. And before anyone says that my parents were influencing my decision, I have to point out that at my house, my parents were very apolitical in front of me. Politics just wasn't something that was discussed at home. So, anyway, I became very enamored of Mr. Reagan. When November rolled around, we did a mock election and of course I voted for my boy Reagan. After that, it just sort of snowballed. When I reached the tenth grade, I knew I wanted to major in history and political science. This was also the year that we went to Washington DC and I just fell in love with the place. We met our representative for Pennsylvania and I wound up asking him a ton of questions about what his job entailed, the type of policies and bills he was supporting, and if he liked what he was doing. Yeah, I sort of kept him all to myself. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help myself. This was also the time that I begged to take AP History which later became a defining moment in my life. In fact, when I was a freshman in college, I was one of the few who declared a major -- and then kept to it for the next four years. Over those four years, I took every military history class I could get my hands on, and as many Political Science classes as they offered, mostly dealing with International Relations Theory. My dream was to go to Washington DC and work on staff for any politician who would have me. I was determined that politics was my future -- not necessarily running as a candidate (I can't lie worth a damn), but working behind the scenes. When I went for my Masters, I majored in 20th Century American Politics. Do you see a theme here? My goal during that time was to work for the Defense Intelligence Agency because I had connections. However, by the time I graduated, Clinton had cut Intelligence jobs and there was a hiring freeze in place. So much for the dream. I thought perhaps I could become a History Professor instead. I was accepted to Lehigh University for my PhD, but the funding for my program fell through. It was a little difficult to justify spending as much money for a PhD as I did for six years of undergrad and grad school. Eventually, I took a job as an administrative assistant at a base on the BRAC list (Base Relocation and Closure list). I even made the move down to southern Maryland with it. It was as close to DC as I ever made it. I suppose you could say if I hadn't been with SoccerRef, I would still be down there, maybe not working for the Navy, but definitely working somewhere in DC. But I wouldn't have experienced everything I have, nor would I be married to SoccerRef or have my miracle child. Things work out for a reason. In the meantime, I still support my favorite candidates and my party, and I listen to talk radio -- that's how I stay involved. It's like politics is in my blood. I can't shake it no matter how hard I try. Tags: meme
current mood:  contemplative
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Continuing to answer comments from my Blogging Meme post.From redeem147: How did you get started collecting American flags?That's a very good question because even I'm not sure when it really started. My best guess is that it began after I visited Washington DC for the first time in 1986. That's also the year that I realized I wanted to be an Historian -- though I may not have become one, I still did six years of college, majoring in History and Political Science. Over the years I would pick up small trinkets that had the flag on them, but I have to say that I think my passion increased in early 2001 when we built the house. I made plans to use an Americana theme for the powder room downstairs. I even bought Americana stencils (bird houses) for the border. I was laid off in early August of that same year, so I started my powder room project -- working on the stenciling, getting hand towels, etc. Then 9/11 happened. That's when I really started collecting American flag themed items because, understandably, it became readily available everywhere. Friends and family would also contribute to this "addiction" as they would be out traveling, see something they knew I'd like, and then they'd buy it. In fact, I think that 85-90% of my powder room decorations (bears, flags, stars, etc) were gifts. Even ESILFH even gave me something at Christmas last year that I haven't yet put up Eventually, the decor started spilling out into the foyer and would still be there if it wasn't for a certain toddler's inherent curiosity. As it is, I have to rotate things and probably will continue to do so until Boo is older. Tags: meme
current mood:  busy
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From crossreactivity: What do you think is the biggest challenge women face today?Wow. You've really hit me with a doozie. If you had asked me this when I was still working and had a career, I would have said without a doubt that it was equality in the work place. But now that I'm a stay at home mom, I'm not sure that I'm qualified enough to answer this because I'm not "out there" anymore. Though I'm sure things haven't changed in six years. I once worked for a company that was an old boys club. Yeah, that was a blast, let me tell you. Despite the fact that I had both a bachelors and masters degree, I was considered inferior to the manly engineers who worked there. Yes, I had been hired as a type of administrative assistant (because that's what I had been when I worked as a civilian for the Navy), but my boss -- a female engineer and VP -- quickly discovered that I was capable of much more. I moved up quickly, becoming a database programmer and then a project manager. However, that all stopped when the president's son joined the company. My boss had been grooming me to take her place, but with the son there, I suddenly became a non-entity especially after they pushed my boss out of the company. One day I was told by the president that I made far too much money (I made far less than those who were male and had the same amount of experience and time that I did) and that our customers would no longer want to hire me. It was a flat out lie because I'd brought in a TON of money for them over the five years I worked there. My customers adored me. I was a hard worker and a professional. More and more lies came out of the president's mouth and the other two VPs and the CFO decided that I was expendable. That's when my former boss told me that everything that was going on was because I was a woman and I was making the president's son look bad. WTF? How could I continue to work there? I didn't. Armed with a spruced up resume, I applied to Lucent Technologies. My experience in opto-electronics with the government gave me an edge. Fortunately for me, the department head that hired me had never heard of my father-in-law (he holds three patents over forty plus years of service), but it was my last name that got me in the door. Anyway, Lucent was a dream compared to my old company. Women were held in higher regard and I was treated on equal footing with the engineers. However, that said, there still existed an attitude that women who were pregnant and then took maternity leave were some how considered less because of it, like they weren't taking their jobs seriously enough. This bugs the crap out of me. Women are expected to be able to do it all, but when we do, it's held against us. My job at Lucent was a dream job, but I have to wonder, if I hadn't been laid off, would I be considered inferior because I chose to start a family? Tags: meme
current mood: contemplative
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From kaelsu2: How about what was your first scifi related event that you ever attended?My first event was a Vulkon Buffy the Vampire Slayer event in Cleveland, OH. That was April 2003 and the first of many, many, many conventions. The lineup: Robert Atkins Downe, Iyari Limon, James Leary, Andy Hallett and James Marsters. I had no idea what to expect and I was feeling a little weird about going -- mostly because I never considered myself one of "those" people. You know what I mean, the kind who go to SciFi cons and dress up in costumes to live out their fantasies...think Galaxy Quest. Of course I bought into the stereotype because I didn't know any better, ya know? Anyway, I had a blast! I got to meet so many people from the two boards that I posted to -- We Band of Buggered and BAPS. In fact, I finally got to meet acristleo, bandcandy_peach, bubonicplague (I think it was there that I met her for the first time, though things are a bit hazy! *g*), dettiot, elizard100, eviljade, rockgoddes (though I didn't know it at the time), rusty_halo (a bit hazy on this one as well), scarlett2u, taradi. I met so many people that weekend, that I'm pretty sure that I've left a whole slew of people off the list. Plus, as I said, the weekend was sort of hazy because we drank some type of purple death in a cup in elizard100's room. Yes, "Purple Death in a Cup" is what Leary dubbed it, and he would know because he looked like death warmed over the next day. Whoops. Oh, and I posted a con report...it can be found here. Reading that now, I was so young and innocent and just so excited about it all. Geez. Now I feel old and jaded. Maybe because I've been to so many since that it's old hat. Yeah, that it. :) So you can all thank this particular event for kicking off my con addiction. If it hadn't been for Cleveland, I wouldn't know about 80% of you. Tags: meme
current mood:  nostalgic
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From cathyteach2: How about posting about the best book you ever read? Or, if that's too hard to narrow down, how about *one* of your favorites?I have so many favorite books and authors that this is really hard. When I find authors or books that I like, I tend to read them over and over. It's a thing. Gosh, this is so hard. I could give a dozen or so different answers since I read books that are parts of series. For example, I love Stephen King, but the majority of his books that I adore are his fantasy stories which are all related. The Dark Tower series is probably my all time favorite -- hands down. But, at the same time, the other books that are tied into it are also excellent. In fact, The Talisman (King wrote it with Peter Straub) was one of my absolute favorites as a teenager. It's a rather large book and I read it in less than 48 hours. I was so immersed in the story that my parents wondered what happened to me because I only ventured out of my room to eat and use the bathroom. For those who are unfamiliar with The Talisman, it's about a boy who travels between the present day US and a medieval parallel universe (I wasn't sure exactly how to explain it so I went to King's site). What struck me most about the story was Jack's journey -- how each time he popped over to the "Territories" he was wearing the clothing of the period and using words from that dimension. In the years since I read this book, I still remember that a sandwich in the Territories was known as a popkin. I don't know why that struck me as strange, but it did and has stayed with me ever since. I also think that the reason I've had this book burned into my memory was because it was the very first fantasy book I ever read. I remember thinking that King and Straub got me, like they wrote it just for me. It was so easy to get involved in the plot, to empathize with the character of Jack and his quest to find a cure for his mother. Perhaps that was because my own mother had almost died when I was eight (long story and probably best for another post all together) or maybe I was a year older than the character. For whatever reason, I felt like Jack's journey was my own and I grew along with him as the story progressed. In 2001, I was beyond thrilled when King and Straub put out a sequel called Black House. Jack had aged in correlation to the time that had passed between Talisman and Black House. He was wiser, harder and had absolutely no memories of the time he traveled to the Territories so again, the reader went on a journey with the character -- it was as if we were slowly regaining our memories as well. This time the bad guy was from End World which tied into The Gunslinger's universe. I am a sucker for stories that tie in with other stories that I love. And I am in awe of writers who do it -- especially those that pay attention to their own continuity and storylines. King left clues in every fantasy book about Roland's (the main character from the Dark Tower series) world and his destiny. They were subtle enough that only fans of that series would understand...that way if you picked up Hearts In Atlantis you could read it without knowing anything about Roland and his travels. This is why I think I have such a huge crush on Russell T. Davies. Nice segue, huh? Seriously though, I adore Rusty because of the hints he left in Torchwood series 1 for Doctor Who series 3. So, to answer the question directly, The Talisman, by Stephen King and Peter Straub, is one of my favorite books of all time. Yeah, I know, it's not a history book. It's shocking to me too. *g* Tags: meme
current mood:  geeky
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