I want to live where soul meets body, And let the sun wrap its arms around me.
I totally came home and fell asleep last night. I'm hoping the Powers That Be forgive me for not doing much for Samhain last night. About the time I woke up I had to make dinner for my hungryman who had just spent 4 hours on an overtime call. Awwww.
But I did certainly celebrate!
At home...
Jenni ("Callie Torres"), E*Beth ("Miss Teen South Carolina"), and Shawn ("Capt. Jack Sparrow")
Erik ("Tall Shadowy Fellow") and Shelley ("Gorgeously Gothic">
Gretchen ("Victorian Lovely")... but her eyes are doing something totally bizarre.
And a bonus shot of my own personal pirate, making kissy-faces to the camera!
And at the office!
Why, yes, I DID just so happen to have a tiara lying around!
Ron went as a member of KISS, again. It was totally novel last year (and he really pulled Gene Simmons much better), but he did set up stage lights in his cubicle for ambience).
And me with him
I've got my eye on you! Or, possibly, in my mouth.
How we decorate Paul's (one of my techs) desk. I wrote the poem that's on the tombstone to the left.
Dead Body!
Keith snuck up for a cleavage shot, haha.
One of the days we decorated, I was very excited.
Aimee was buried in cobwebs!
And then they got pictures of me holding my "pumpkins" today. It was like 7:30am, I take no responsibility for my actions.
Oh hai! it is time for another book update! I'm nearly to my 50 Book Challenge for the year, with at least 2 months to go. I'm certainly not going to stop at 50, I'd go craaaaaazy. But maybe I'll keep track of what I read anyway. It's interesting to look back and see what all I've read.
#43
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson
Quite possibly the weirdest book I've ever read. Reminded me a lot of I, Lucifer, possibly due to all the drug intake/drug trips. To be honest, I had some problems relating to the characters. I understand the point of the book and the character's actions, but it was heavily centered around fulfilling one's immediate desires, that "American Dream" of sex and drugs (SO MUCH DRUGS) in a consequence-free environment. But that world doesn't exist, our actions affect everyone around us. I guess that was the purpose then of the drugs, to delude onself and avoid the guilt, and THAT was the American Dream of the time, to believe in a happy-ever-after, Utopia-America. But to borrow from Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, "there are no happy endings, because nothing ends."
It's a book worth reading, if for no other reason than it really captures the zeitgeist of the early 70's, which reaped the harvest of the failed 60's hippie movement. I think I liked the movie better, as I could then relate to the drugged experiences, but the movie is a faithful adaptation of the book, and I'm glad I read the book first.
#44
The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan
One of my good old standy-by's, this is the story of 8 women, 4 Chinese and their 4 Chinese-American daughters. It's almost like a Chinese version of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (albeit, separated by many years in publication), but with striking similarities, which I won't go into here. The bonds of family and friends, mothers and daughters, and their niches in their society are delicately sketched out in 16 vignettes that all tie together. One major theme is the inner strength of the women, especially of the mothers who generally struggled within their established traditions back home and forging a new life in the US. And then the daughters, who observed this struggle and sought to establish their own identities within the constraints of their mother's NEW set of traditions.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you have interest in modern Chinese history, American cultures, and mother-daughter tensions. Or, just for a good read! Lots of Chinese mythology works it's way in here as well (like the moon cakes that I posted about in the middle of September). A quiet, but poignant, read.
#45
Wideacre
Philippa Gregory
This book was like Gone with the Wind on crack, haha. Beatrice, the main character, is a woman possessed by both her sexual appetites and her love for her home of Wideacre. When I met Philippa Gregory last year, someone asked her about the sexuality in Wideacre, and her response was that she'd just spent 3 years in grad school, and she was a woman with NEEDS! So apparently she exorcised her demons by writing them all into Beatrice. Her research (which would soon become famous in The Other Boleyn Girl) is VERY strong here - in a way, it's almost an exercise in cultural studies of Georgian England.
The main catalyst for the plot is the "entail," that law which said only male heirs could inherit (you might recognize this law from Pride & Prejudice, it's what allows Mr. Collins to inherit Longbourne). But Beatrice is bound and determined to be the only master on her estate, and resorts to murder, incest, and business dealings of questionable legality in order to attain her goal. It's a fascinating read, but you really feel no sympathy for Beatrice, as she's kind of a psychotic freak, but fascinating nonetheless. Worth a read, but like most of my books, prepare to be a little stunned.
#46
The Snow Queen
Joan D. Vinge
One of my all-time favorite, favorite books. Think Hans Christian Anderson if he wrote Dune. Vinge has taken the traditional story of "The Snow Queen," where a girl sets off to find her childhood sweetheart, who has been seduced by the evil Snow Queen. But there's a twist here, involving space travel, offworlders who have brought technology to a rather "backwards" world, and a generous helping of pagan Goddess worship.
Moon Dawntreader is one of the primitive Summer people on her world. When her cousin, Sparks, runs off to the city and becomes ensnared with Arienrhod, the Queen of Winter, who has encouraged the offworlders to mingle with the Winter technophiles. Society is extremely stratified, and the world of Tiamat has been kept in the dark about some very important information, which Moon finds out and uses to her advantage.
I love this book, although the sequel isn't as good (it's missing the 'fairy tale' aspect, but well done in it's own right). Highly recommended for sci-fi and/or fantasty lovers, and anyone who appreciates strong female characters.
Currently Reading: The Summer Queen, Sex in Elizabethan England, Dante's Paradisio, and The Spiral Dance (yes, still). And pretty much in that order!
I need another bookshelf, heh. I have books overflowing on books! Shawn calls me "neeerd!" but the way he says it make me think he likes it.
But I did certainly celebrate!
At home...
Jenni ("Callie Torres"), E*Beth ("Miss Teen South Carolina"), and Shawn ("Capt. Jack Sparrow")
Erik ("Tall Shadowy Fellow") and Shelley ("Gorgeously Gothic">
Gretchen ("Victorian Lovely")... but her eyes are doing something totally bizarre.
And a bonus shot of my own personal pirate, making kissy-faces to the camera!
And at the office!
Why, yes, I DID just so happen to have a tiara lying around!
Ron went as a member of KISS, again. It was totally novel last year (and he really pulled Gene Simmons much better), but he did set up stage lights in his cubicle for ambience).
And me with him
I've got my eye on you! Or, possibly, in my mouth.
How we decorate Paul's (one of my techs) desk. I wrote the poem that's on the tombstone to the left.
Dead Body!
Keith snuck up for a cleavage shot, haha.
One of the days we decorated, I was very excited.
Aimee was buried in cobwebs!
And then they got pictures of me holding my "pumpkins" today. It was like 7:30am, I take no responsibility for my actions.
Oh hai! it is time for another book update! I'm nearly to my 50 Book Challenge for the year, with at least 2 months to go. I'm certainly not going to stop at 50, I'd go craaaaaazy. But maybe I'll keep track of what I read anyway. It's interesting to look back and see what all I've read.
#43
Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas
Hunter S. Thompson
Quite possibly the weirdest book I've ever read. Reminded me a lot of I, Lucifer, possibly due to all the drug intake/drug trips. To be honest, I had some problems relating to the characters. I understand the point of the book and the character's actions, but it was heavily centered around fulfilling one's immediate desires, that "American Dream" of sex and drugs (SO MUCH DRUGS) in a consequence-free environment. But that world doesn't exist, our actions affect everyone around us. I guess that was the purpose then of the drugs, to delude onself and avoid the guilt, and THAT was the American Dream of the time, to believe in a happy-ever-after, Utopia-America. But to borrow from Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, "there are no happy endings, because nothing ends."
It's a book worth reading, if for no other reason than it really captures the zeitgeist of the early 70's, which reaped the harvest of the failed 60's hippie movement. I think I liked the movie better, as I could then relate to the drugged experiences, but the movie is a faithful adaptation of the book, and I'm glad I read the book first.
#44
The Joy Luck Club
Amy Tan
One of my good old standy-by's, this is the story of 8 women, 4 Chinese and their 4 Chinese-American daughters. It's almost like a Chinese version of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (albeit, separated by many years in publication), but with striking similarities, which I won't go into here. The bonds of family and friends, mothers and daughters, and their niches in their society are delicately sketched out in 16 vignettes that all tie together. One major theme is the inner strength of the women, especially of the mothers who generally struggled within their established traditions back home and forging a new life in the US. And then the daughters, who observed this struggle and sought to establish their own identities within the constraints of their mother's NEW set of traditions.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you have interest in modern Chinese history, American cultures, and mother-daughter tensions. Or, just for a good read! Lots of Chinese mythology works it's way in here as well (like the moon cakes that I posted about in the middle of September). A quiet, but poignant, read.
#45
Wideacre
Philippa Gregory
This book was like Gone with the Wind on crack, haha. Beatrice, the main character, is a woman possessed by both her sexual appetites and her love for her home of Wideacre. When I met Philippa Gregory last year, someone asked her about the sexuality in Wideacre, and her response was that she'd just spent 3 years in grad school, and she was a woman with NEEDS! So apparently she exorcised her demons by writing them all into Beatrice. Her research (which would soon become famous in The Other Boleyn Girl) is VERY strong here - in a way, it's almost an exercise in cultural studies of Georgian England.
The main catalyst for the plot is the "entail," that law which said only male heirs could inherit (you might recognize this law from Pride & Prejudice, it's what allows Mr. Collins to inherit Longbourne). But Beatrice is bound and determined to be the only master on her estate, and resorts to murder, incest, and business dealings of questionable legality in order to attain her goal. It's a fascinating read, but you really feel no sympathy for Beatrice, as she's kind of a psychotic freak, but fascinating nonetheless. Worth a read, but like most of my books, prepare to be a little stunned.
#46
The Snow Queen
Joan D. Vinge
One of my all-time favorite, favorite books. Think Hans Christian Anderson if he wrote Dune. Vinge has taken the traditional story of "The Snow Queen," where a girl sets off to find her childhood sweetheart, who has been seduced by the evil Snow Queen. But there's a twist here, involving space travel, offworlders who have brought technology to a rather "backwards" world, and a generous helping of pagan Goddess worship.
Moon Dawntreader is one of the primitive Summer people on her world. When her cousin, Sparks, runs off to the city and becomes ensnared with Arienrhod, the Queen of Winter, who has encouraged the offworlders to mingle with the Winter technophiles. Society is extremely stratified, and the world of Tiamat has been kept in the dark about some very important information, which Moon finds out and uses to her advantage.
I love this book, although the sequel isn't as good (it's missing the 'fairy tale' aspect, but well done in it's own right). Highly recommended for sci-fi and/or fantasty lovers, and anyone who appreciates strong female characters.
Currently Reading: The Summer Queen, Sex in Elizabethan England, Dante's Paradisio, and The Spiral Dance (yes, still). And pretty much in that order!
I need another bookshelf, heh. I have books overflowing on books! Shawn calls me "neeerd!" but the way he says it make me think he likes it.