Music:
The Yoshida Brothers, Hishou [2007] (***)  - The Yoshida Brothers play enjoyable instrumental music that mixes a traditional Japanese sound with a pop/rock aesthetic.

Blogs:
 6 Gender-Essentialist Myths About Dating and The Bedroom Debunked

University of Michigan psychologist Terri Conley and colleagues went through psychology studies to see ( Read more... )

TV Quote (from The Big Bang Theory):
Stuart the comic store owner: Can I help you find anything?

Amy: A comic that depicts a woman whose bosom can't be used as a floatation device.

Books:
Title: Glow (Sky Chasers)
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Year Published: 2011
Rating: ***
Ages: 12 and up
Format: Read in eBook format on Nook for Droid

Fifteen-year-old Waverly ( Read more... )

Blogs:
The Rebirth of the Feminist Manifesto: Come for the Lady Gaga, stay for the empowerment - New York magazine has a good article on the expanding world of feminist blogs and how it's inspiring a new generation of young women (and men) who believe in gender equality, much like the consciousness raising groups of 1970's.  There's also list of ( Read more... )

TV Quote:
"I never understood that relationship.  It was like oil and ...  a Martian." Seymour Birkhoff on Nikita

Books:
Title: Suite Scarlett
Author: Maureen Johnson
Year: 2009
Rating: *** 1/2
Ages: Clean cut YA chick lit for ages 13 and up
Format: Read this YA novel in eBook form on Kindle for Droid

Suite Scarlett is a fun YA chick-lit novel about a 15- ( Read more... )

Quote of the Week (From The Good Wife)
Will: "But let's not expose ourselves on a subway platform unless we have to."
Diane: "Oh, what a colorful and pointless metaphor."

Music:
Wyclef Jean, The Carnival Volume II (Memoirs of an Immigrant) [2007] (***); Greatest Hits [2003] (***) -  Wyclef Jean sings hip-hop with a healthy dose of social commentary and ( Read more... )

TV Quote of the Week: "Just because I tell you things doesn't mean you're allowed to know them," Caroline on The Vampire Diaries.

My Life:
 I like having one of my kids at college.  The daughterling gets to enjoy the benefits of being an only child (something my son got when he was young), and I love texting with my son and reading about his new ( Read more... )

I didn't listen to a new album every week, but I listened to one at least every other week. Though, I mostly kept to safe choices that fit in my music comfort-zone this summer.

Albums  Listened to This Summer:

Vanessa Carlton, Be Nobody [2002] (****), Heroes & Thieves [2007] (*** 1/2), Best of [2011] (****)
Vanessa Carlton is a piano playing ( Read more... )

The Nine Lives of Chloe King (***) - Chloe King is a normal teen living with her single mom in San Fransisco, going to school, working at a vintage clothing store, and hanging out with her best friends Amy and Paul.  Weird things start happening to her on her birthday -- like she can easily walk on the edge of a bench, has retractable claws, and ( Read more... )

Title: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
Author: Barry Deutsch
Year Published: 2010
Genre: Graphic Novel
Age Range: for ages 8 and up
Rating: ***

Eleven-year-old Mirka lives in an Orthodox Jewish community called Hereville.  Her kind, but formidable, stepmother Fruma insists that Mirka take knitting more seriously so she one day find a good husband, ( Read more... )

Music:
I go through music like a hummer goes through gasoline, listening to songs when I wash dishes, cook meals, walk to the grocery, and even when I fall asleep each night.  So I am constantly in need of new music. My goal for 2011 is to try to listen to a new album every week.

While I'm not immune to a catchy pop hit, I decided I wanted to try ( Read more... )