'Toon Tuesday

Book Review - "Eclipse" by Stephenie Meyer (Spoilers)

OK, I liked "Eclipse" better than "New Moon". The pace of the story was great, we saw more Edward and more of the Cullens - which I liked. I loved learning more of the Cullens' back stories.

The build up to the battle was good and the alliance between the "good vampires" and the werewolves against the "bad vampires" led by Victoria was fun. The fight against Victoria was quite gruesome and well told. I still think the development of all the characters is somewhat weak and one-dimensional, except interestingly for Jacob - maybe because of his dual life, we get to know him better.

As for Bella, while she annoyed me less - I still don't really like her. As a heroine for teenage girls, I'm still having trouble with her low self-esteem, her neediness and the fact that she hasn't told her parents about what's going on. I don't like that so many people now know the truth about her and about Edward, including Billy (supposedly her father's best friend) and no one has told Charlie. Someone (maybe Edward?) should sit Charlie down and explain the whole thing to him.

The Lola Shuffle - The "Non-Suspended" Edition

So, McCain's suspension of his campaign and his trying to weasel out of possibly having to cancel his participation in tonight's debate is all over the news and the Blogosphere and you've heard about it ad-nauseum...so I won't go on and on about it.

Suffice it to say..."I call shenanigans"!

Lola shuffle us up a good selection for tonight's debate or non-debate!

1. Mamma Mia - ABBA
2. 's Wonderful - Sarah Vaughn
3. Dirty Little Secret - The All-American Rejects
4. Casey Jones - Grateful Dead
5. Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
6. 1985 - Bowling for Soup (This song cracks me up)
7. Smile - Lily Allen
8. Easy Come, Easy Go - Bobby Sherman (YAY! Bobby Sherman!)
9. Allentown - Billy Joel
10. Message in a Bottle - The Police (FYI...this is one of my best numbers in Guitar Hero - really!)

Have a great weekend kids...whatever you do, don't suspend your fun!

Things That Make You Say Hmmm

The Bail Out

If you don't agree with the Paulson bail out plan, write to your Senators and Representatives. It's your money!

My problems with "the plan" as presented by Paulson and Bernake:

• The lack of accountability and oversight for which Paulson and company are asking
• It needs a solution for people who are losing their homes - I like the idea of a moratorium on foreclosures
• I don't want golden parachutes for executives who basically messed up in doing their jobs

'Toon Tuesday

The Lola Shuffle - The "I Can't Come Up with a Good Edition Name" Edition

Sorry - I got nuthin'...my creative juices must've dried up with all the cold meds I took earlier this week when I got the stealth-cold from hell.

I have no special plans for the weekend, except stopping by the new Obama headquarters and checking it out. Other than that, there will probably be baseball (there's soooooo much baseball!) games watched and football games watched, and maybe a movie or two.

Oh, Sunday I'm going out to dinner with friends...that'll be nice.

OK Lola...hit it...

1) Irreplaceable - Beyonce
2) Dancing in the Street - Mick Jagger and David Bowie
3) Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
4) Falling in Love Again - Marlene Dietrich
5) Philadelphia Freedom - Elton John
6) Tequila - Beau Jocque
7) The Times They Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan
8) Over the Rainbow - Eva Cassidy (my favorite version of this song)
9) Movin' Out - Billy Joel
10) You Can Leave Your Hat On - Joe Cocker (Love, love, love this song...so sexy)

Have a great weekend everyone!

'Toon Tuesday

Thought for the Weekend

Life is short - break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uninhibitedly...and never regret anything that made you smile.

The Lola Shuffle - The "Bleh" Edition

Bleh. That pretty much describes my mood today...not bad, not good, just there.

So Lola, I'm leaving it up to you to get this party started...

1. You Were Meant For Me - Jewel
2. Kiss - Tom Jones
3. On An Evening in Roma (Sott'er Celo De Roma) - Dean Martin
4. Mambo - Cachao Lopez
5. You Are My Sunshine - Norman Blake ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack)
6. Walking in the Rain - Erasure
7. Dark Road - Annie Lennox
8. Levon - Elton John
9. Carry on Wayward Son - Kansas
10. The Old Songs - Barry Manilow

Have a great weekend everyone. Please think a good thought for the Texas Gulf coast, it's looking pretty scary for them right now...hopefully they'll be spared as we were last week.

Book Review - "New Moon" by Stephenie Meyer (spoilers)

I was having issues with New Moon as I was reading it. Now that I've finished it, the issues are still there and there are possibly more.

I am bothered by Bella's willingness to lose herself for her first love at the age of 17. I'm bothered by her recklessness and lack of self-preservation because he's gone. I'm bothered by the fact that she hasn't told her parents about Edward being a vampire. The parents are portrayed as hapless caricatures who need to be taken care of by Bella. I don't like that these are traits attributed to a heroine with which teen-aged girls are supposed to identify.

But then again, I'm 45 not 16. I'm probably over-thinking it.

Now, from a writing perspective, I found the first part of the book - the part where she's depressed - to be way too long. OK, she's sad - we get it! That section could have been edited a lot and made the book less plodding.

IMO, without Edward the story loses a lot of its appeal. Basically I don't really like Bella, particularly when she's without Edward. She's boring and self-centered and pretty much annoying. And she's one dimensional - to borrow from "Jerry McGuire", Edward *completes her*.

I found the Jacob Black character to be a forced complication. His presence in Bella's life is completely unnecessary, as evidenced when Edward finally returns on the scene and Black disappears for a while. I didn't care. I didn't miss him, and was somewhat disconcerted upon his return.

The story picked up considerably when Alice reappears and the eventual return of Edward begins. I think Alice is a fascinating character with a great back story and potentially many layers. The introduction of the Volturi was cool - I think that's going to be an interesting component to the series.

And finally we see the Cullen family again. I love them. I hope we get to learn more about the other family members as the series progresses. At this point, as far as I'm concerned the series can focus on them and leave Bella with Jacob!

I've started Eclipse, let's see how that goes.

'Toon Tuesday

Too Close for Comfort

Well, it looks like Ike will spare South Florida, although we'll probably still get some crappy weather from it.

Hubby was pretty freaked out about it and for a bit there I started getting concerned.

The good thing tat came from it is that it shocked us out of our complacency. We finally got the hurricane supplies we should have gotten back in June. We now have plenty of batteries for the battery-operated fans and TV, a new cooler, freezer bags in which to freeze water, new flashlights, etc.

Oh yeah - and Spaghettios - lots of Spaghettios. Hey! That's hurricane food! And Vienna sausages...mmmm Vienna sausages. This time in addition to canned tuna, I also got canned salmon - I figured if things got really crappy and the heat was making me feel sub-human, some lovely salmon and hard boiled egg would make me feel better. Ooh - and deviled ham! Seriously, how often go you eat deviled ham?

So...a big old kiss to those who thought good thoughts for us - apparently they worked! But keep it up for a few more days just in case - thanks!

The Lola Shuffle - The "I Don't Like Ike" Edition

Yeah - so, it's not looking pretty right now for South Florida. The picture above indicates what I call (among other names) the "Cone of Confusion" and it pretty much sucks.

So Lola...give me some good weather love...maybe something by Tina Turner since she kicked Ike's ass...

1. Boy - Erasure
2. It's Been a Long, Long Time - Bing Crosby
3. Tabu - Desi Arnaz (Dixie - for you! Totally random!)
4. Livin' La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
5. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen (thunder - funny Lola)
6. Come Together - The Beatles
7. American Idiot - Green Day (the day after McCain's speech - how apropo!)
8. It Ain't Me Babe - Bob Dylan (probably my favorite Dylan song)
9. Don't Stand So Close to Me - The Police
10. Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando and Dawn (What? Yes I have Tony Orlando and Dawn on my iPOd! You wanna make something of it? Huh?)

Seriously, right now it's looking pretty scary for South Florida. Please think a good thought for us.

Have a great weekend!

Memelicious

I got this from a friend via e-mail...what fun!

Copy and paste, then "bold" all the things you've done

Gone on a blind date
Skipped school
Been to Canada
Been to Mexico
Been to Florida
Been on a plane
Been lost
Been to Washington, D.C
Swam in the ocean
Cried yourself to sleep
Played cops and robbers
Recently colored with crayons
Sang Karaoke
Paid for a meal with coins only
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
Made prank phone calls
Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose or spit out your mouth
Caught a snowflake on your tongue
Danced in the rain
Written a letter to Santa Claus
Been kissed under the mistletoe
Watched the sunrise with someone you care about
Blown bubbles
Gone ice-skating
Been skinny dipping outdoors
Gone to the movies

Now answer these questions...

1. Any nickname? No
2. Mother's name? Beba (Hilda)
3. Favorite drink? Water
5. Body Piercing? Yes, ears
6. How much do you love your job? A lot
7. Birthplace: New York, NY
8. Favorite vacation spot? Cruise
9. Ever been to Africa? No
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes
11. Ever been on TV? Yes
12. Ever steal a traffic sign? No
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? I don't drive
15. Favorite salad dressing? Something Asiany
16. Favorite pie? Sweet Potato
17. Favorite number? 6
18. Favorite movie? Too many to list
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? Something with fruit
21. Favorite food? many
22. Favorite day of the week? Friday
23. Favorite brand of body wash or soap? don't have one
25. Favorite smell? Onions being fried
26. What do you do to relax? watch TV
27. How do you exercise? BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? No idea
29. Furthest place you will send this message? I'm putting it on my Blog, so who knows!

If you want to play let me know in my comments...

'Toon Tuesday - one day late (sorry!)

YAY! A Meme of One - One Thing I Regret

It's been forever since I posted a meme. So now, I'm going to do a bunch of them in a row. I got this from Tere over at A Mom, A Blog, and the Life In Between, only she did them all in one shot, I'm going to string them out...if you want to do any of them, let me know in my comments please!


1. Not taking better care of my health when I was younger

YAY! A Meme - Two Things You Want To Do Before You Die

It's been forever since I posted a meme. So now, I'm going to do a bunch of them in a row. I got this from Tere over at A Mom, A Blog, and the Life In Between, only she did them all in one shot, I'm going to string them out...if you want to do any of them, let me know in my comments please!

1. See as much of the world as possible
2. Ride a hot-air balloon over vineyards