Books: That's Amore

Another new author for me - Carol Grace. That's Amore is a fun little piece of fluff with very nice descriptions of Italy. The characters are a little more mature, but don't necessarily act that way. You'll have to have about 15% suspension of disbelief, but this is supposed to be fun so let go.

Anne Marie's ex is getting married and she decides the best way to forget is to visit Italy to find Giovanni, the foreign exchange student she had a crush on in high school. She finds Marco instead, who has his own agenda for Giovanni - and eventually Anne Marie as well.

Not one I'd buy, but one I checked out at the library or would've picked up at a garage sale.

TV: Fall 2010

TV Guide has a schedule for fall, 2010. I checked it out so I could see what was new I might be interested in and look for changes. Here's what I'll be watching:

Monday
Chuck, 8pm, NBC
House, 8pm, Fox

Tuesday
Biggest Loser, 8pm, NBC

Wednesday
Lie to Me, 8pm, Fox

Thursday
Bones, 8pm, Fox
Fringe, 9pm, Fox

Friday
Medium, 8pm, CBS
Who Do You Think You Are, 8pm, NBC
Supernatural, 9pm, CW

Saturday and Sunday are a wash. I might be interested in Body of Proof on ABC Fridays. I haven't looked into our other networks...USA and Syfy. Just in case you didn't know Being Human (BBC America) has been on. They show a whole season in advance in the UK, but I'm trying really hard not to peek. :) Our household is also currently watching Psych and Covert Affairs.

Miscellaneous: New Words

The Oxford Dictionary of English has accepted 2,000 more words. I can see how not everyone is thrilled. Words like vuvuzela and geoengineering sound okay, but they didn't stop there. Try these:

defriend
chillax
turducken
interweb
freemium
bromance
tweetup (yikes!)

And even worse, they accepted acronyms such as LBD and abbreviations like vlog. Really? Okay, I must take into account the purpose of the dictionary is to admit words that are used in everyday language. And they certainly did that. I still think it's crazy.

I kinda like staycation.

Men: "Auggie Anderson"

Geek/Nerd: Auggie Anderson
Show/Movie: Covert Affairs
Actor Name: Christopher Gorham
Year of Birth: 1974
Status: Married (Anel Lopez Gorham)
Height: 6'
Fun Fact: Licensed Auctioneer

I was thinking I liked this guy when he was on Ugly Betty, but they kept the nerd in his thick glasses. Now he's on Covert Affairs playing a geek. It's sweet that he's a family man with 3 children. His wife is beautiful and a childhood sweetheart - lucky guy.

So look at the photos. What do you think?
Henry on Ugly Betty; Auggie on Covert Affairs; Just him :) (christopher-gorham.org credit)

Chocolate: Turtles

YUM!

Books: What the Dead Know

What the Dead Know is another book I found around the house that I hadn't read. Laura Lippman is a new author for me and I already feel bad because I probably won't read another.

The premise is that two sisters go missing and years later a woman appears at the site of a hit and run claiming she's one of them.

The most interesting part of the book was the last 38 pages - and the book is 366 pages long. I really don't even feel like I know the characters because she spent a lot of time describing the scenery through the characters eyes. One expects to have the author spend a lot of writing on the set up at the beginning. At about 40 pages in one has a good idea of the story. That set up was about 300 pages long. I kinda felt like I was walking through sludge.

Amazon reviewers gave her an average of 4 stars. But everyone who gave it 1 or 2 was feeling the same way I did about the book. Sorry, but you'd have better luck reading the back of the book and coming up with a great story yourself. :(

TV: Young Justice

There will be a new animated series on Cartoon Network featuring our favorite Justice League characters - as teenagers. Young Justice will premiere this fall and was brought to my attention by B and Ain't It Cool News (video at link.)

Looks interesting. Good tooning. Comic book backing. Interesting voices. Jesse McCartney is doing the voice of Robin, and Danica McKellar is Miss Martian. Queen Bee, a villan I think, is voiced by Marina Sirtis.

Watch the video at AICN to hear about the dynamics of the group. That's the most intriguing part of all. Fall 2010.

Miscellaneous: Partal

Another amazing person is on my radar this summer. Maybe you could think of this person as an acquaintance because I am friends with her mother. She is an amazing teen who participated in the annual (every November) novel writing challenge, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month. The goal of the challenge is to write 50,000 from November 1st to the 30th. Young writers can make their own goals, but she wrote the 50,000!

So this acquaintance/friend, Skyler, was able to publish her book, Partal, through CreateSpace and Amazon. It is available for purchase here. It is a perfect book for young readers who like fantasy. I own a signed copy because I helped edit - even I feel special! Skyler plans to write the sequel during this year's competition. As a person who also likes to write, I admire this young person's persistence and imagination.

Men: Miguel Veloso

Name: Miguel Veloso (Miguel Luís Pinto Veloso)
Best Known For: Fútbol, FIFA #14
Year of Birth: 1986
Status: Single
Height: 5'11"
Fun Fact: Okay, just look at some of his hair pics here and here.

I scanned through every photo of the World Cup players looking for gorg players. The bods on the players were obviously awesome so I had to go straight to the faces. What a cutie patootie! There's a hint of a dimple there :)At least in this picture. I don't like his blond or long hair (many pics on the Net.)

I know there's some major hype out there about Cristiano and I agree with it, but I wanted to post someone slightly less known.

Chocolate: Divine Chocolates

You know your significant other is the best when you complain that your next chocolate post is coming up and he buys chocolate without being told :)

B purchased Divine Chocolate in Milk and 70% Dark. So far I've eaten two small squares of each. I don't feel quite equipped yet to give my opinion - I usually eat the whole bar first. At this moment in time, there isn't anything about the chocolate that stands out. The dark is decent, not really bitter, the requisite fruity taste, good color and snap. I'll say it held up better in the summer heat than the milk. The milk wasn't too sweet, but was really soft because of the temps here.

It was good chocolate - both pieces melted real nice. But I may come back and write more when my palate is cleansed (just at dinner) and the bars are more fully consumed.

Sundays

I have this thing about Sundays. Because the next day is Monday. Sunday is the day before I have to go to work. My mind and body start their weekly panic attack. I'll have to get up early. I have to think about what to wear. I have to think about lunches for the kiddos... and my lunch. I worry about my gas tank, my agenda, and my time management. Sunday is a day that I hate to have places to go because it means I'm not relaxing right before bed. It's like my yoga not to be fully engaged in anything slightly mentally or physically taxing on a Sunday night.

What is this crazy going on about you ask? August is like a big giant on-mega-steroids Sunday night. And Monday is knocking.