48) Spook by Mary Roach
Is the soul in the sperm? Or the toe? (my review)

49) Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
I've heard about True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse series. Not a bad start (my review)

50) The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell
A better effort in this series. Still didn't buy the book, but did read it in just a few days (my review)

51) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
As an audio book, this was really long and I couldn't skip the long winded explanations HOWEVER not a bad book (my review)

After 30 years of fighting Parkinson's disease, my dad passed away on October 29th, 2009 of aspirated pneumonia. I miss him terribly and just feel like my heart has been crushed and shattered. He fought hard until the end because he desperately didn't want to leave us. I've heard before that Parkinson's is a horrible death and they were right. I hope a cure is found so no one else has to go through what dad did.

I'm hoping several folks gave donations to the MJF Foundation to help this. I've been donating but it wasn't enough to help dad.

Love you dad.

42) When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
The first American female Buddhist nun. Excellent book on how to stay centered in the face of everything falling apart. As with all Buddhist books, it's not a complete guide. Just a good push in the right direction (my review)

43) Lowside of the Road by Barney Hoskyns
Must read for Tom Waits fans even though it's not authorized by Waits. Hoskyns did well with what he had (my review)

44) Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris
A nice break from the non-fiction stuff I've been reading. Harper is back finding bodies and getting caught up in chaos. (my review)

45) On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Excellent story, well written and well worth getting through (almost 20 hours on cd!) (my review)

46) Rough Country by John Sandford
Another break with a new Virgil Flowers book. (my review)

47) The Gods Drink Whiskey by Stephen Asma
Pretty good book on Cambodian Buddhism. It's not what you think. (my review)

38) 1 Dead In Attic by Chris Rose
In preparation for my NOLA trip, I got this book from the library. It's a collection of articles written by Rose before, during and after Katrina. Very moving book (my review)

39) Stupid American History by Leland Gregory
First read from Librarythings Early Reviewers. Cute little book that tries to dispel some myths about American history (my review)

40) Blankets by Craig Thompson
FINALLY got to read this huge graphic novel. A young man's first love and his journey through the awkward times. Excellent drawings and very good story (my review)

41) Dissecting Death by Frederick Zugibe MD
Interesting book on forensics from a medical examiner standpoint. (my review)

I'm back from NOLA and pretty sad about it. I have pics posted on facebook but I'll move them to a non-facebook site tonight.

andrewsarcasm , you got the Yoohoo pics?? :) And moon pies, no less. In the same vending area in Alabama. Awesome.

I'm going to say that New Orleans is one of my favorite cities. I absolutely loved it there.

More to come!

34) Relentless by Dean Koontz
A comeback (of sorts) for Koontz. I haven't been happy with most of his recent stuff but this picked up the ball...but let it drop a little bit in the end (my review)

35) Skin Trade by Laurell Hamilton
Another book that didn't disappoint after a LONG run of disappointing novels. The wereanimal porn didn't even start until about 400 pages in. There was a plot, by God! (my review)

36) The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs
This book made me curious not because I'm religious (I'm not) but because I wanted to see how many stupid things this poor man had to do to take the Bible literally. Actually this was a very well done, respectful and neutral book. Good job! (my review)

37) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
DANG! How have I not read this before? Everyone knows the plot but this was simply a fantastic little novel. Read wonderfully by a Librivox reader (my review)

27) Top Ten Book 1 by Alan Moore
(my review)

28) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
LOVE! (my review)

29) Top Ten Book 2 by Alan Moore
(my review)

30) Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs
Another Brennan book - a pretty good one. (my review)

31) Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
New series (for me) that's pretty decent (my review)

32) The New Adventures of Jesus: The Second Coming by Frank Stack
Jesus comes back to earth in the modern world. (my review)

33) Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
A decent Stephanie Plum book (my review)

I WILL make to the weekend.....



without harming anyone.


I WILL.

Went to the Vogue last night and saw PJ Harvey and John Parish.

I didn't take pictures but someone did ....


They were really great. I was surprised. I really love PJ but she and John only did one album in 1996 as a lark. But then, out comes A Man A Woman Walked By and here comes the tour for it. Yay for larks, eh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWrfLhX964I

Black Hearted Love video. California is a pretty fantastic song too. Ch-ch-check 'em out.

Good stuff and a great show :)

24) Wicked Prey by John Sandford
Excellent Lucas Davenport book! (my review)

25) Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Kim Deitch
Pretty good graphic novel with Waldo the cat (my review)

26) Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
One of the best Harry Dresden books to date! (my review)

One of the IT guys at work has been helping me search for a laptop for my mom. I wanted to get her one for her birthday/Christmas because even though she needs it, she'll never get one for herself. Dave sent me the email for Dell's Memorial Day sale. Whoot! I got mom a laptop for $450!

I called mom to check on specs to make sure it's powerful enough for her to do her work. She's very excited :) and I'm happy to have found the perfect gift for her!

I'm at work and a sweaty mess. I walked around the lake twice. I think I need to start bringing a change of clothes to walk in. Tom walked with me and kept sticking his armpit in my face. Ah, love the guy friends. *eye roll*

Better than a thousand useless words is one word that gives peace.

- Buddha

21) Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed by  Paul Trynka
An extraordinarily long audiobook, this made me delve back into my Stooges cds. (my review)

22) Always Looking Up by Michael J Fox
My dad has Parkinson's so I really needed to read this. And came away very inspired. (my review)

23) Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
High hopes. Crushed to bits. Like boulder to sand.  (my review)

My adventures last night included being in a horn blowin' monk led procession down 86th street and waving at the gawkers, Mexican food, and watching a monk-filled yak dance.


The Tibetan monks are in town and Tom and I played hooky from work to see the closing ceremony at St. Luke's Methodist Church. The mandala was on display at the front. The mandala is a work of art, made of sand, meticulously put together by the monks all week. We learned that this particular mandala was for health and blessed by the monks.



They explained what the symbols of the mandala meant and explained the ritual dismantling of the mandala. The main significance seems to be "Nothing is permanant" even this beautiful work of art.

They said their chants over the mandala and then began brushing it away. Each of us got a little bag with some sand in it. It's pretty comforting actually to have this little bag of monk blessed sand.




Unknown to us, the monks were going to lead a procession to a little creek to end the ritual. The remaining sand was to be blessed and placed in the running water so that all plants and animals can receive the same blessings that us humans did. We were told the walk was about half a mile. Flip flops weren't the best choice of footwear for me to choose and my back was acting up. Still, we walked. It was like the Pied Piper. The monks led with their horns blowing and all of us followed behind. I'm sure anyone on 86th street then was just confused.

It was more than half a mile.

But we finally got there. More chants and prayers and the sand was released.





Tom and I went for excellent Mexican food and then headed to IUPUI for the Traditional music and dance event. We had seen this event last year and it was really good, so here we were again this year. I haven't been to IUPUI in a long long time and let me say the Campus Center is gorgeous. Makes me want to be a college student again (geek).

The translator gave us tons of information about the dances and prayers we were seeing and actually had a good discussion on the Chinese and Tibet. It was a very very interesting and thought provoking night. I wanted to buy some beads and prayer flags but, alas, my money didn't stretch that far. I made a donation to the monastary though.






The Yak chant was entertaining.






Their debates are incredibly entertaining and interesting. I'm considering debating in the same fashion now. Clapping of the hands indicates a sword cutting through ignorance and the monks clapped loudly and a lot.  The translator said monks get very energetic and eager during debates and have been known to pick up monks who they don't feel are debating well enough and moving them out of the way. They end up sweaty with torn robes after a debate. This usually takes place with about 2,000 monks.

Sweet.

18) The People Look Like Flowers At Last by Charles Bukowski
Not a bad collection of poetry, but not my favorite (my review)

19) Sandman Vol 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
My first venture into the Sandman series and I loved it! (my review)

20) The Lagoon by Lilli Carre
A great graphic novel that's about a 10 minute read. Or 20 minutes if you read it twice. (my review)

I'm in a pretty good mood, despite mother nature knocking me out again.

Last night I got snookered at The Ale House with my friend, Jaime. We each had a flight of beers (one of mine tasted like Grandma's perfume, way too floral) then a big ol' glass of Hacker-Schorr (which I spelled wrong, I think). Jaime turns 30 tomorrow and this was my little celebration with her. My 30th birthday was rad, I threw myself a nice party and lots of friends came to help get me drunk. *sniff* I love my friends. Anyways, we had a great time last night and I'm reminded why Jaime and I are friends, even though we don't get to spend as much time together anymore.

Since being so down and out with my thyroid problems the last few years, I'm amazed at how much better I feel now that it's gone. I really felt awful but it happened so slowly I didn't realize it. It's nice to have some energy back, to not need twice daily naps, to not end up dead asleep at 8pm and to finally be losing some of that godawful weight.

For 2009, I thought long and hard about my goals (or resolutions, whatever) and tried to figure out what I could give, what I'm good at and what skills I have that others can use. I decided that I've been so woe-is-me for so long that 2009 had to be the year of helping out causes and issues that are way bigger than I am. What I came up with was: I'm good at knitting, reading and computer junk. Well yeah, I can see how that's helpful. Actually, it's turning out to be:

I volunteered to design and basically take care of a website for a support group (granted I'm part of it, but that's besides the point). I'm no artistic type person but I can put up a decent website with  loads of information. Check on computer skills.

I love to read. Ok. I found places that could use books and was in desperate need for them. Clarian Hospital was my first goal. My little book campaign reeled in about 6-7 large boxes of paperbacks for patients. And they are still coming in. Check on the love of books.

Now, knitting. A little research shows that there are just tons of charities that need knitted items. Tons, almost overwhelming. i've narrowed my focus and joined the Homespun Helpers and decided that each quarter I'll focus on a specific type of charity. I'm a little behind on my goal, since I was completing presents for other people. My goal for the next few months focuses on animals. More research (Jub bless the internetz) found that the Anderson/Madison County animal shelters are in dire need of blankets and beds for their homeless critters. One of the no-kill shelters is so full that critters are having to sleep on the concrete floor. That just breaks my heart :(  I have 2 doggy blankets in the works and am getting ready to recruit other knitters to help me out. I also discovered that the doggy day care my mom takes her dog to takes in strays and foster dogs. People just dump their animals at the day care in the middle of the night and the day care has yet to turn any critter away. They are also in need og blankets for their pups. In between doing baby presents and requested items (I need to start charging for requested things....), I'll be churning out blankets. Check on the knitting skills.

I need to start my next coding class at the end of April. Once that class is done, I'm halfway through my medical coding cert studies.


I'm happy with the direction I'm heading. As big as my problems seem and are, bigger problems exist elsewhere. I'm not saving the world by any means and I'm not naive enough to think that. But little things eventually add up into big things. I believe my baby steps are helping someone.

Of course all this means that my "spare" time is really really gone, especially once my beast of a coding class starts. But, I'm ok with that too. I make time for everything that is important to me. Including getting snookered with friends.

Meme #1: Reading Survey

1) What author do you own the most books by?
I had to use Librarything to figure this out. I thought it might be close. Stephen King rules with Charles Bukowski a darn close second.

2) What book do you own the most copies of?
I don't really buy more than one copy of a book unless there's a good reason. In one case, the good reason was I snagged an old old old copy of Burroughs Junkie even though I had a copy. I ended up giving my newer copy away. So technically, I still only have one copy.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
Nope, not at all.

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
Oh wow. Odd Thomas from the Dean Koontz books. And Henry from Time-Travelers Wife. Love them both to absolute pieces!

5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
Probably Catcher in the Rye and many of Bukowski's poetry books and the Little House books.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
I read and reread all of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books in elementary school especially after getting to visit her childhood home. I was also reading Stephen King too.

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
I never finish a bad book. If it doesn't grab me in the first 50 pages, it's history. However, I was forced to review Excess Baggage by Tracy Lea Carnes. Just not a good book at all.

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Thus far this year, The Unforgiving Minute was really great. As was The Watchmen.

9) If you could force everyone to read one book, what would it be?
Oh Lord. I don't know but I'm going to pick both The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for literature?
I have no idea.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
You know, I'm always so disappointed to see my favorite books as movies. I hear that Time-Travelers Wife is a movie and that saddens me.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
All of them!

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
Lowbrow? hmmm.....I lost brain cells reading Excess Baggage.

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
Actually it was one I listened to: The Souls of Black Folk. Not a bad read at all just very very heavy.

16) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
French, definitely.

17) Umberto Eco?
I've started the Name of the Rose many times but always set it aside.

18) Roth or Updike?
I have limited knowledge of both.....

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Sedaris without question.

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Never read Milton. But I LOVE Shakespeare, thanks to my wonderful high school Shakespeare teacher.

21) Austen or Eliot?
Haven't read Eliot (yet) but I have listened to Pride and Prejudice. Just not a fan. Although I might try the P&P with zombies version.

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
The classics and graphic novels. I'm working on fixing things for both of those.

23) What is your favourite novel?
NO! It's like naming a favorite child.....

24) Play?
Saw Of Mice and Men in school. Loved it. That's the extent of my play knowledge.

25) Short story?
Oh gosh. Lots of Buk's stories come to mind as does The Long Walk by King AKA Bachman.

26) Work of non-fiction?
The Unforgiving Minute

27) Who is your favorite writer?
Buk, King, Koontz, Acker, Ballard, etc. It's a long list.

28) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Lately, Janet Evanovich and Patricia Cornwell. I'm disappointed in the paths they've taken.

29) What is your desert island book?
Anything with lots of short stories.

30) And ... what are you reading right now?
Um....

Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed (audio)
Breaking Dawn
The Rice Mother
Buk's The People Look Like Flowers At Last
John Barleycorn or Alcoholic Memoirs (audio)
The Universe in a Single Atom (Dalai Lama)

And yep, I'm reading them all at once.