I am going to be taking a business trip......to Ireland! I will be there for three days, one day to attend a celebration and write a review of a forklift factory, but the other two to hang out in Monaghan, Ireland. I am very excited (Ireland is one of my top places to visit), and the fork lift factory is paying for everything, so yeah...

My sister already told me she's so jealous she's not talking to me.

When You Catch an Adjective, Kill It: The Parts of Speech, for Better And/Or Worse by Ben Yagoda

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Not many writers can tackle the sometimes tedious subject of the parts of speech. Ben Yagoda's fascination with the English language is clear, and I couldn't help but take part in his excitement, joy, and occasional irritation that is involved in defining and determining proper usage of the parts of speech.



Each chapter takes a stab at the sometimes shady definitions of the parts of speech. Quotes and anecdotes from famous editors, writers, and pop culture icons bring the language to life.



Yagoda comes to the defense of those parts of speech and grammatical uses that having been getting a bad wrap over the years, such as adverbs, adjectives, and more. He reveals the source of the almost superstitious hatred against such uses, explains why the hatred is unfounded, and offers examples from famous and well-loved authors who have broken the 'rules' and used this kind of language to powerful effect.



As I read, I found myself paying extra attention the Yagoda's use of words, his own sentences in describing the language illuminating in. As the he predicted I will be forevermore shifting 'only' back and forth. This is an excellent book for any english language aficionado.








View all my reviews.

Here's something I was going to bring up in my other zombie-love post. I was watching a short behind the scenes thing for a horror convention, and one of the questions asked of actors and actresses from various zombie movies was, "Do you prefer fast or slow zombies?"

Almost all of them preferred slow, which is where my taste lies. To me the fast zombie is ridiculous, because the logic of the zombie is that s/he is dead. Dead people are in a state of rot and decay; they get stiff. In my mind they don't miraculously become great power runners. But that's just me.

Besides, the sheer number is enough to get you anyway. Slow is still dangerous and very frightening. It's a more suspenseful fear.

But enough about what I think. What do you think?


Poll #1208134 Zombies: Fast or Slow
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Do you prefer fast or slow zombies in movies, etc.?

I am really into zombie movies right now. Love, love, love them. More specifically, I'm into George A. Romero. I didn't really care about zombie movies until I watched the original black and white Night of the Living Dead. Brilliant movie, now I have to see the rest of his movies.

In fact, I signed up for Netflix, because it was the easiest way to get those films. (As a side note, I've been obsessed with finding obscure and random films on Netflix now, too.)

One of the side effects of this, however, is that I'm dreaming of zombie invasions. In my dream I dig a deep trench around my house with steep sides, because zombies can't climb, and then I board up all the windows and doors on the first floor of my house. In my dreams I am heavily armed and a great shot. I am sitting on my roof picking off zombies left and right, and my brilliant handling of the situation keeps my family safe from harm.

My friend has a friend who wants to make a zombie movie, so I'm hoping to get together with him and at least start a discussion involving some of the ideas I have. I would love to be able to make a zombie movie. It would make me very happy.

mistri was asking for book recommendations. I figured I'd share the list I made for her here.

Here are some recent books I have loved over the past few months:

The Looking Glass Wars, by Frank Beddor. This is a retelling of Alice in Wonderland, Alyss is a princess who has escaped into our world, after her Aunt Redd takes over the palace in a bloody battle. She tries to get help from Lewis Carrol, but when he writes down the book he gets it all wrong.

Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs. An excellent fantasy series involving vampires, werewolves, and fairies. Mercy, the main character, is a smart mouthed tattooed mechanic, and also a coyote. Fun, fast reads with characters that continue to grow on you.

Heart-Shaped Box, by Joe Hill. Horror, but with incredible depth of character. These people are deeply human and the fear comes as much from the everyday horrors of the everyday world as it does from the supernatural.

Sweetness in the Belly, by Camilla Gibb. A young British girl is dragged across the world by her bohemian parents. In Morrocco they leave her in a muslim temple, when they die a week later she ends up being raised there in the muslim faith. Her journeys take her from there to Ethiopia, where she finds love and eventually famine, until she is forced to flee the country back to England. Deeply textural and moving book.

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut. Very witty satire about faith and destiny, politics, and Ice-9.

Neither. I mean sure, they both sort of have their appeal depending on how the story is told, what kind of mythology has been created, and what abilities they have according to the author's desire. Vampires tend to be sexy, which is a plus, and werewolves have that wild loss of control, in my mind a caged freedom (yes, I'm aware of the contradiction).

But in my mind they have become, to a certain extent, boring. The market is flooded with vampire and/or werewolf stories (and I hate that "and/or" construction by the way, but in this case it actually works in the meaning of the sentence). There is a certain amount of success in writing such stories due to their popularity. Unfortunately, this realm of vampires and/or werewolves leaves very little room for creativity (with exceptions, of course).

Of course, I will pick up and read a vampire and/or werewolf stories, because I still find them to be fun reads. (In fact, I've been reading a great series of books called, Moon Called, Blood Bound, and Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs. They were very yummy to devour.)

But as a writer, I have little interest in vampire or werewolf stories (I wouldn't want to be one either, there seems to be too much of a price to pay for their power and mystique). Perhaps it's the contrary nature in me. I don't want to do the same thing that lots of other people are doing. But more than that, it's that I don't think I have a unique enough vision (as yet) of the tale for me to wish to go that route. In my mind there are so many other supernatural creatures in the realm of mythology and fairy tale to explore, and I would rather play with one of the ones that haven't been quite so beat into the ground.

I love the idea of fallen angels for example. Why did they fall? What powers do they retain after they fall? Are they friend or foe? Such creatures have an abivalance that attracts me. Because they are fallen, it suggests a betrayal, a danger, and yet, they were theoretically once good. They remind me of men or women who have fallen down on their luck, people who fall off the grid into the underworld of society. Already, this creature has got more fire going in my belly. Already, I want to write about that.

Do you still vampire and/or werewolf stories fascinating? Would you write one? Would you want to be one?

My family has been planning a trip to Alaska all year for the purpose of visiting our Grandma and other family. We all really wanted to go, and it would have been my sister's fiance's first time there. But one by one everyone had to call it off for one reason or another. So that I was starting to get quite sad that my summer plans had been dashed.

However, I decided to soldier on. :) In other words at the last minute I bought a ticket and I will be winging my way up there at the end of the week. (Count the cliche's in that paragraph.)

Anywho, I am very excited about this trip and it's just about all I can think about. I haven't been to Alaska in years (probably before I started this journal). I went up there every summer when I was younger, flying alone all through fifth grade and junior high school. I love Alaska, and I can't wait to sit on my Grandmother's porch swing and watch the mountains. My heart is lightened by the very thought of it.

* * *

Sorry if this is posting to your friend's list several times. I don't seem to know what I'm doing today.

My sister and her boyfriend are officially engaged. Yay!


I've known about it for weeks, but had to keep it a secret from my parents, because my sister really wanted her boyfriend to ask my Dad's permission. She's a traditionalist at heart, and it's all very sweet.

We all figured they would get married eventually, as he's been a part of the family for years. We just didn't know when it was going to be. :)

Now all the planning for the event will be going on over the next year. My sister wants a small wedding, which makes things easier. All I can say is that I am very, very happy for her.

* * *

Speaking of weddings. I'm thrilled that California has legalized gay marriage. It's about time, and I plan to help keep it that way any way I can. Now if we can just get all those other states to follow suit...

Well, as today is my birthday, I spent the evening with my family. We had a nice family dinner at home, which was exactly what I wanted. We did the whole cake presents thing. My family is such and important part of my life, it's always great having them here, whatever day it is.

Though my sister got a smack, because she keeps saying that I am thirty, when I am only twenty-eight. It's not that I'm upset about growing up and getting older. I just kind of think that thirty, so much more so than eighteen or even twenty means adulthood. Which is such a silly thing, because adulthood is so much more a state of mind than anything else. I'm sure I will be happy to turn thirty when the time comes, I'm just not ready to face it yet, especially since I have a couple of years.

Anyway, it's been a great weekend overall. I took Friday off and spent time up at Clearlake. Unfortunately it was too cold to get any swimming in. But I was able to laze around the house, read books, watch films, work on art, and just be with my friends without any pressures or responsabilities, which is always a great privledge. I hope everyone else had the same kind of joy for them as well on this long weekend.

The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
As the third book in this excellent series, I thought it held its own. The writing remained excellent and the characters returned to use even more complex and defined.



However, I did not this one to be as pleasurable a read as I had the previous two. Maybe that is because this is the darkest of the three books, with each character being forced to faced the darkness within themselves -- all their fears and even their own ugliness. It therefore makes sense that our heroine is going to make mistakes that, unsure of what to do and bearing the great burden of all the magic, that she should foolishing wish to hold onto the power she has fought so hard to protect. Each mistake, eash bad decition came straight from the heart of her, from her fears and doubts, but all this foolishness made it harder for me to get through. I kept finding myself not wanting to read more, not wanting to know more, not wanting to see how bad it was going to get, for it was clearly going to get worse. And I loved her so much and wanted to protect her from all her bad decisions, but I couldn't, I slowly faced this book and watched her work her way through her troubles, bravely, nobly, foolishly fighting to figure out what is right.



In the end it was the brutal reality of life that made this book hard for me to read. But also like life, one must struggle through the confusion and troubles to get to the light somewhere at the end of it all. Truely a lovely and satisfying end to the series.


View all my reviews.