Blog: Take Three

I've been kicking around the idea of starting a book review blog as 1) a fun little project and 2) a way to encourage myself to finish the books I start. Just call me short attention span girl.  I wanted to give it a theme, but I wasn't sure if "Twilight-Free Zone" was enough to carry a blog.  I intended to get to work on it right after we had put everything right by electing Paul Ryan Mitt Romney.  Yeah.  So, anyway.....

There's been a lot of talk of a third party, which values should we jettison, can social cons and fiscal cons live together in peace, etc.  Which gave me an idea.  If I will be making big decisions about new political parties and new agendas, if might behoove me to brush up on... well, everything related to history, politics and economics.

Of course, I don't have the time or, frankly, the inclination to sit down with multi-volume tomes on these topics.  So the tentative plan is to look for popular works, YouTube videos, documentaries, pod-casts, etc that can enlighten without taunting me, unread, from the bookshelf like Basic Economics is doing right now.  786 pages.  Maybe when the little one goes to kindergarten.

So, first up: The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes, has been sitting, neglected, by my bed for a long time.  I'm just a few chapters in and.... well, let's just say things are looking kind of familiar.

Free Audiobook Downloads

Sync is bringing you two free YA audiobooks a week, all summer long.  Alas, the summer is almost over, but there are still a few weeks to go. Each pairing includes one modern novel and one classic.  Very cool concept. This week's books are Daughter of Smoke and Bone and A Tale of Two Cities. Check it out.

You're So Lucky

Roanoke Speech, edited for clarity:

Oh sure, you used the government roads to drive to your job and your neighbor used them to drive to his meth dealer. That doesn't mean you're a hard worker. You're just lucky.

OK, maybe you used the Internet to find a job, get a Master's degree or market your product all over the world and your neighbor used it to surf for free pron. That doesn't mean you're smart. You're just lucky.

All this luck could just as easily have blessed your neighbor.  In fact, if life was fair, it would have. Just look at the poor guy. He obviously needs it more than you do.

So, just give your profits to the people smart enough to get a job in government so they don't have to work hard, and we'll take care of everything.  You're just lucky to have us looking out for you.

All is revealed

Ah!  This story about the mighty Mia Love:

She is taking on six-term congressman Jim Matheson, who currently holds the distinction of being a Democrat representing one of the most Republican districts in the country.

explains this head-scratcher:

Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah) on Tuesday became the first Democrat to declare his support for placing Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

Send Sample Now

Oh, how I have come to love the words "Send sample now."  This has become my favorite Kindle feature. (Well, besides the ability to throw 100 books in my purse as I run out the door. That's cool, too)  If, while trolling the internet, a book even kind-a-sort-a strikes my fancy, I have the sample sent to my Kindle.  I can then review it at my leisure. If it looks good, I stick it in a file for potential future buys. If not, I delete it.

Fool me once....

Not being mathematically inclined at all, I took Earth Science in college.  This was a lab course for the liberal  arts types.  In this course, circa 1988,  I learned many interesting "facts."  For example, I learned that the planet was going to run out of fossil fuel..... by the year 2000.  I also learned about the coming population explosion. People would be dying in the streets of starvation... by the year 2000.  And the graph that demonstrated the population explosion was, naturally, a hockey stick.

Being a credulous youth of 18, I was horrified. But, life intervened and I soon forgot the coming apocalypse, only to remember it 20-something years later, when confronted with the new coming apocalypse.  Hey!  Whatever happened to those old coming apocalypses?  

"Shut up," they explained.

Meyer Lemons

I always figured that Meyer lemons were not available in the store because they weren't as good as real lemons and no one wanted them.  I just learned that they are, in fact, a pretty awesome fruit. They are not generally available outside the southwest due to their delicate skin, which makes them difficult to ship.

This new makes me even more exited about the south-facing window in our new house.  For the first time ever, I won't be living in middle of a forest and may actually be able to grow some house plants.  Meyer lemon just made the candidate list.

Vet School Open House

UT's College of Veterinary Medicine is having it's annual open house this Saturday, April 14th from 9-4.  It's worth checking out. Here's my post on last year's event.