Fablehaven by Brendan Mull

At YaYa's insistence I read the young adult (preteen?) book Fablehaven'by Brendan Mull.  I enjoyed it as an adult, but I would have LOVED it as a kid.

I Am Number Four

I watched "I am Number Four" yesterday, a movie I rented for YaYa. It's based on a teen book, and you know what? I really liked it, in a popcorn flick/guilty pleasure kind of a way. The action sequences were wicked.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday Honeybooanglecakeshoneybunchesaoats!

Quarantine 2

A few wks ago I raved about [REC] 2, a Spanish sequel to the scene by scene inspiration for the movie Quarantine. Last night I watched Quarantine 2, which isn't even in the same ballpark. Obviously a sequel to the American version, it features a completely different plot and characters than the Spanish version. It was a fun, disposable horror flick, but nothing you haven't seen before.

WTH? Someone anonymously dropped off a box of hardcover mysteries & some nail products. That's 2 donations in 2 wks. It would seem 2b someone we know, or a Good Samaritan w/ great intuition.

FIB

Ten min ago I saw a driver from Illinois came to a complete stop on 94 just west of downturn. No mech trouble, just came to a stop, got his bearings, and drove off. Nevermind the cars swerving to avoid him, natch. What an ass.

Bad Teacher

Late last night Lis & watched a bootleg of "Bad Teacher" we borrowed from a friend. It's not going to win an Oscar but it's LOL and I enjoyed it a lot. I loved Cameron Diaz's character, and start to finish she looked like a slice of heaven that had fallen to earth - it reminded me of why I fell in crush w/ her when I saw The Mask yrs ago. Recommended, BUT not for everyone here. It's far too raunchy for many a FB'er with better morals than yours truly.

The credit rating agency Standard & Poor's just announced that it has downgraded the U.S. credit rating to AA+ from its top rank of AAA.

A Nightmare

Junie  keeps talking about a nightmare she had. It was her birthday, and she wanted to go to a festival but instead we took her to the circus. 'mean guys' were at the circus, and they had guns and tried to kill us all. We had swords tho', and we killed them first. Then we collected rocks and put them in her school. She is very matter of fact about this, and does not seem very affected.

A Success!

For dinner I made chicken drumsticks & roasted potatoes with fresh peppers from the garden. I know it was a success, because when I stepped out of the room for a minute I heard LuLu tell one of her siblings "dinner's good tonight, eh?" It was the first genuinely decent experience of the day since that hellish trip to the pediatrician.

Quote

"Not he who has little, but he who wishes more, is poor." - Seneca

A Poem

Smiley, about a minute ago: Dad, I wrote a poem. You wanna hear it? 

 "Think of a morning light that always comes. The sun. It does."

President a Obama turned 50 today, and in celebration the markets had their worst day since the lows of 2008-2009. 

We were in the library parking lot when the Thunderbirds flew into town. The kids really got a kick out of the noise and spectacle of the jets as they went overhead a few times. Those things are a great sight to behold, unless of course you're about to be the one napalmed. Then, not so good.

A Doctor Visit

@ the doc w/ all the kids. This is miserable, being alone at the doc w/ 4 kids, and waiting for 60 min.  Grrr. Junie's been complaining of an earache for a couple of days. 

update: It was diagnosed as swimmer's ear. no pool for a week.

Farscape

As my previous post indicates, I'm a big fan of Farscape, even tho' I just started streaming it in early July. Oh, there's a few episodes that are clunkers, and more that are so-so, but when they do it right - such as 'The Way we Weren't ' (S2E7) - it is *superb*. Mind you, it's completely derivative of a story I wrote in 1986, but until I figure out how they got their hands on a copy of my 6th grade journal, I can't prove it in court. ;)

A Farscape Quote

Crichton: Hey, D'Argo, how come I'm not afraid?    

D'Argo: Fear accompanies the possibility of death. Calm shepherds its certainty.

Crichton: I love hanging with you, man.

Go The F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach

Like most parents in America I've read "Go the F**k to Sleep" by Adam Mansbach. I thought it was witty and dead on when I read it. I am now sad to admit that because of its overwhelming popularity, including the ridiculous Samuel L Jackson audio book version, I am no longer able to find any joy in the text. Petty, but true.

Photo Dump!!

Wqq

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle

I've finished reading Pierre Boulle's novel "Planet of the Apes", the inspiration for the film series. 

There's a serious cultural gap between the French novel & the American film. In the book there's no alpha male like Charlton Heston, unwilling to go quietly into a cage; nope, the Frenchman not only meekly takes his place in captivity, he is polite in his requests for freedom. Way to fight your stereotype Mr. Boulle. Still, I rate the book a B/B-

A Question

Serious query: IIRC the income tax was enacted ~ WWI. How did the fed gov't raise revenue in the 140 yrs before that? Sure, they didn't have SS, Medicare, and 1000 useless cabinet positions, BUT it was still a world power that funded the Civil War, The Great White Fleet, the construction of canals, dams, etc. So where did the $ come from, and is it still a viable source of moolah?

Jelly Bellly

I got home from work after 12, stayed up til 3 w/ Lisa, now @ Jelly Belly w/ the family

Flashpoint

Normally I'd rather shave my ears with a rusty spoon than watch another TV show about 1. cops 2. lawyers or 3. Doctors. Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. But due to the kids losing the remote, we were stuck watching the cop drama 'Flashpoint' on CBS tonight. Not bad. Not great, but not bad.

Final Sale/A Borrowed Life

A few night's ago we watched another made for TV movie "A Borrowed Life". It's a surprisingly well acted mystery about a couple who pays for an illegal kidney transplant, then deals with the repercussions when the donor dies on the table.

* I believe the film is also known as "Final Sale"