Usain Bolt Joins us on Duck Sauce Theater
September 2, 2008
Go back and look on the main TGTBTU page, in the lower left corner at Duck Sauce Theater. You'll see a short interview with "Usain Bolt" - the Fastest Man on Earth.
I swear - it's real! No really!
Tags: 2008, Duck Sauce Theater, Gwen is causing trouble, PonderingLove It or Hate It, It’s Heeeerrrreeeee
August 30, 2008
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What'm I talking about? Well FOOTBALL of course! One of my favorite things is college football. I'm a big fan, but not die hard. (Although my sister and I are plotting ways we can catch the game while at a friend's wedding in a few weeks. Actually, his wedding is a two day extravaganza.) Do the polls and numbers numbers mean anything to you? Good things? Bad things? Do you agree or disagree? Could care less? |  |
I don't know about you, but I went to a big football school. I think it was a combinations of things. We won the national championship my freshman year. I didn't even buy season tickets going in - because really - who cares about football? :X (Sacrilege, I know. Hey - I grew up and have lived all my life North of the Mason Dixon line.) Not to say we don't have good football up North. I mean there's The Ohio State University, and that state up North (both in the Big Ten). I suppose I have to give props to the Pac Ten as well. Otherwise, the SEC is a major power house, and everyone knows football is akin to religion (if not greater) for the Big Twelve. (Yes I know there are more conferences.)
Some of the big schools playing this Saturday are the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes, Trojans, Sooners, Gators, Tigers, Mountaineers, and Longhorns. Some schools have awesome mascots. Others are run of the mill. You have your fierce animals, the ones everyone knows - and then the interesting ones.
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Even if you have nothing to do with sports, there are some mascots that are recognizable to everyone. Likely everyone knows John Harvard. (*Please* tell me you can place this one.) The Ivy League is fun - it makes sports fanatics cringe, but Harvard and Yale have fun at their game, and the crazy traditions. (I know Harvard students go streaking before the game.) There's the green wave (Tulane)- but their mascot figure is a pelican. Stanford's tree has a mascot contest, I believe - which is fun (or they used to). Does your school, big or small, have a nutty sports tradition? |  |
There are the teams you love, and the teams you hate. And I haven't even gotten into pro football yet. (Don't worry, I won't. ) But other than this post being YAY YAY YAY COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS BACK AND THAT'S AMAZINGLY TERRIFIC - I'd like to involve all of you.
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Do you like football? Hate it? Like another sport? Soccer, Baseball, Hockey? Have had friends who were on teams, managed teams, were cheerleaders or dancers for a team? Does your significant other love or hate sports? Are you sitting there with him/her or wishing you could use a crow bar to pry him or her off the couch? (Or using said crowbar to brain them?) |
I liked playing touch football well enough, but I was never big on professional spots. Until, as I said, freshman year. There was no avoiding it, and by the end, I didn't want to. I also discovered Susan Elizabeth Phillips, one of my favorite authors, and read her Chicago Stars books. Honestly- how can you not be at least the tiniest interested in football after that?
| Still, even with all the football hype, some times my favorite stories and things about the sport are the human interest stories. Like Michael Oher's. Yes, the article is long, but it's worth reading. And - tell me how you can hate a sport which makes a life and gives someone who wouldn't otherwise have them, great opportunities. |  |
And of course, to make this everyone friendly - what's a something that you absolutely love love love, that you look forward to yearly, (or whatever time period). Or, any good sports stories? Or bad- because sometimes those can be good too. 
Or a favorite character who is/was a pro athlete. (Rachel Gibson, Deirdre Martin and number of other authors write terrific stories with such characters.)
Back to School
August 19, 2008
Let's educate ourselves. A potentially dangerous topic, but I think much good could also come from it. So, this is a pondering that will hopefully be fueled by all of you. We all make mistakes, and life generally throws such mistakes in our face. So, we'll try to keep this as nice as possible. Of course, this will also double as a forum for venting - so really, as long as we keep personal attacks out of it, I'm good.Sensitivity - is this an issue you think about? Do you know someone who asks really awkward questions? I'm not talking about the once in a blue moon foot in mouth situation. I mean the person who makes at least three people uncomfortable each day.
A friend recently sent me this article. It's a fun column in general, but this week what I'm going to direct your attention to would be the third question. It might not seem like a big deal, but think - have you ever asked someone "what are you?" - or how you would feel if someone asked you that? My personal favorite answer I've heard is "A human." But I suppose that would be just as rude as the question. (Does a rude question excuse a subsequent rude response?)
Now I'm not saying this is something you should never ask. If you're talking about diversity, personal experiences, or the other person mentions "back home" or some other sort of lead in - go for it and ask. You could learn some great things. I'm pretty sure I've asked it myself. But I've never done it within 5 minutes of meeting someone.
| Something else I recently saw online was an ethnic label attached to something medical, and it simply grated on me. This has also been on my mind, because I recently saw a commercial that I found rather unnecessary. H5N1 is something I've been following off and on for more than five years now. H5N1 is Avian Influenza, better known as Bird Flu. The BBC has had a page on it for something like forever. Those of us in the west have been safe thus far, though governments are somewhat prepared. There was an uproar when the US government spent millions of dollars on a vaccine about three years ago. Also, there have been some more recent developments, trying back to a sad event in Spain's history. A friend of mine was 100% adamant last summer that humans could not get bird flu. Hopefully it never becomes an issue (or a greater one) for him or any of us. |  |
So, I'll leave you with that commercial I saw. What do you think? Educational, or scare tactic? (I'm ok with the "you need to be aware" intention behind it - but... geez. What's with commercials these days? Like the missing child cum battery one.)
But back to the main point - what is something people might not encounter in their every day lives that you think they should know about, or would like them to get right when they talk about it? Major or minor, I'd love to hear it.
Tags: Limecello, PonderingAnd I’m Still Pissed Off!
August 17, 2008
Ever have one of those days when nothing, not a damned thing, goes right and then to top it all off, something really stupid, irritating, outrageous and any other word you want to toss in there happens?? That happened to me just a few days ago. I was even relaxing at the time, trying to slough everything off and enjoy a good book while having dinner. And even though I pretty much laughed off the pinnacle of the bad day at the time, later I was just plain old ticked off. 
What could have happened you ask? Every time I turned around, it was something. First I had to wrap up a few books I was going to mail out to some friends. I love to share my pastime when I can. But do you think I could find all of them on the first go-round of looking for them on the shelves, in the boxes, in the cupboards, or stacked on the desks and wherever else I have to stash them in this small townhouse? No. Of course not. Why should something so darned easy be easy? I go through every box before I find a couple of them, then through three cupboards to find a few more, a stack on the desk falls over when I go through those books. I trip over the stupid flap of a box I left out the night before. At least I didn't fall on my ass, but it ticks me off even further just because. After a lot of cursing and muttering and yelling, I eventually found all the books, got them wrapped up and put in my nifty little American flag tote, and was finally ready to head out to do errands. Now, in Central California in the middle of August, it gets hot. Very hot. Sunshine galore. 115 degrees in the shade hot. This doesn't bode well for running around doing errands. You end up drenched and tired as all get-out when you're done, so you probably should have stayed home anyway.
Do ya think that even crossed my mind this particular day? You guessed it. And because I'm one who doesn't want to make two or three trips to the car in my detached garage here in the complex, I load myself and my handy-dandy rolling thingamajig up and lug everything I'm going to need in one all-inclusive trip. It's only 10 a.m. I'm already dripping just halfway to the garage. But I get the car loaded and am ready to take off. Then I remembered. I forgot something. In the house. So I trudge all the way the back, continuing to mutter that string of swearing I had started earlier. And adding a few extras for good measure. At last I'm in the car and I crank the air conditioning to high. Oh, that felt so goooooood! So good that I decide to start with my errand that's furthest away, giving myself time to cool off and then later in the day when I'm finished with everything, I won't be too far from my nice air conditioned home. A darned good plan if I do say so myself. My optimism, which I haven't seen much of so far, is finally rising. You know the old saying I spoke too soon?
I actually thought things were going well after I got on the road and got the first few errands under my belt. Of course, if I was one to make a list of things I need to do I probably wouldn't forget one or two. And drive right past where I need to be. So I cussed a little more after realizing I missed a stop. I heaved a big old sigh and decided to heck with it, I'll just do it next week. By this time I expected my car to start smoking or just come to a chugging halt all together. It was one of those types of days. I hadn't yet had lunch, so I was hungry on top of the irritation, which didn't help one iota. One more final decision. Get the last couple of errands completed and then stop at my favorite Mexican place for my plate of taquitos to enjoy while I get back into Jill Shalvis' book, Flashpoint, the new Harlequin Blaze I got when I met her at the RWA conference in San Francisco. I'd started it the night before, was really enjoying it, so figured this would be a nice way to end a really shitty day. Or so I thought.
I ordered my taquitos, my diet Pepsi, had my bowl of chips and salsa at the table, which I was thoroughly enjoying. Had my Shalvis propped open with my weighted bookmark (an absolute wonderful invention for readers!) and got lost in the story until my food came to the table. A good book, good food in an air conditioned place away from home for a couple of hours. Finally the day was coming to an enjoyable end. Then I picked up my diet Pepsi. You know what happened, dontcha? I grabbed in the wrong spot, the lid wasn't on it tight, whatever the reason, the entire soda went all over everything. Including me. Including my autographed copy of Flashpoint. Of course, that was the first thing I saved! Forget my purse. Forget the food. I had to save my book. But it was too late. I could see the pages already warping, even though it was still wet. I knew what it would look like later when it was dry. So I took the towel the gal at the restaruant offered me, dried the cover of the book, dried the inside and outside of my purse, took everything to another table and waited for the new plate of food she kindly offered. Then I started to laugh. What else could I do? I opened my wet book, continued to read about a handsome hero and his beautiful heroine, eventually enjoyed my taquitos, and that was the end of my lousy day from hell. Thank god.
I've since finished Flashpoint. Enjoyed it a lot. Reviewed it and you'll see it here tomorrow. My now crinkled copy of the book sits here next to me and sometimes I smile, sometimes I don't. But it defintely reminds me how wrong things can go, whether you're ready for it or not. What about you and that day you thought would never end? Do you have any reminders that will suddenly bring it back and make you glad it's all over with and you hope to never see another day like it any time soon? Or do you laugh instead? Sometimes when I do happen to glance at my once-wet book, I get that irritated feeling at having lost it that way and I'm still pissed off!
Tags: 2008, Flashpoint, Jill Shalvis, Pondering, Sandy MSPOTLIGHT: Devon Does Blaze
August 9, 2008
Way back at the beginning of 2008, Sybil had a great idea. Each month we would focus on a different Harlequin/Silhouette imprint, featuring authors, titles and reviews for that particular line. As a category fan, I was definitely on board. Our inaugural spotlight was to be Harlequin Blaze, back in February. But due to the various issues we had with the server move and template change, it never quite got off the ground. So for the hottest month of the year, we are going to focus on Harlequin's hottest category line, Blaze. Back in February, I wrote a little something about my experience with reading Blazes, and it went a little something like this...
Read more
TECH TALK: The Victor Reader Stream and tools that assist
August 1, 2008
Sybil asked me when I first joined the site to talk about the technology I used. I keep meaning to do so, but haven't had a chance to bother until now. Read more
Recent Loves (and Re-Loves)
July 31, 2008
These are just some things I thought of off the top of my head.
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Ice cream. Ok, the better question would be, when have I not loved it? But I have a greater appreciation for it now that I have my own ice cream maker. I got a lovely Cuisinart for my birthday, but making ice cream is *hard* - anyone have a suggestion or good recipes? My goal is to make amazing creations that taste like Jeni's Ice Cream, or the delicious Argentinian gelato you get at Dolce Zza. |
S'mores. I've missed out on the past few cookouts/barbecue's... but I caved and made s'mores in the toaster oven yesterday. They were still delicious. Maybe not quite as fun as sitting around a smoky fire making them, but good nonetheless. And bug free. I think I'm growing up though  because I had 4 [eep yes, I did.] 2 with chocolate, and 2 without, and I found the ones with chocolate too sweet. Gah! |
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Cous cous. I haven't had it in a long long time, and found myself craving some. This terrific little store at home sells boxes of it for 99¢, and my favorite is the Roasted Garlic with Olive Oil. Yum. The Parmesan didn't wow me, and I'm about to try the Toasted Pine Nut soon. |
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Pesto. This goes more with the first - the best pesto I've had in my life was at a country club on Long Island, at a cousin's wedding. Amazing. The best ciabatta and pesto I've had was at a place that no longer seems to exist in NYC on the way to the UN building. It's been years, and I still want a sandwich there. I recently bought myself a mini food processor. I've wanted one for years (all I need now is a Kitchenaid stand mixer) - and mine is EENSY. Still, the pesto I made was just a tad bit off - but good. Just not AMAZING. Any suggestions or recipes? And/or suggestions on what I can use a food processor for? |  |
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| Walking. I live in suburbia, so nobody walks. Well, I also live on a main road in my city, so from my driveway to the road is 40 mph - it's a bit like real life frogger crossing it. I've taken to walking to the library - it's a bit more than 2 miles - definitely doable. I get some funny looks walking because nobody does. At certain points, if there's no sidewalk, drivers turn stupid. They swerve at me, or drive on the entire other side of the road to avoid me (which I prefer more than the former) - but it's funny. We don't know what to do with pedestrians. One day I'm going to ponder about how there are no outdoor activities for teens [outside of organized/school sports] - and how sad that is. |  |
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Nature shows. I grew up watching National Geographic specials, wanting to be a marine biologist. Somewhere, I lost that dream. (And that's probably a good thing because AP Chem was not my best friend. That and somehow I've managed to avoid ever taking physics, through more than 18 years of school.) Last week, however, I caught Nature, on PBS, and squee'd my way through the ~55 minute program. I figure I can add working with some sort of nature organization some time as a career goal. (But I can't see myself going for another degree and taking biochem and molgen, etc.) Ah well. I've recently been watching more of Planet Earth, though I was spoiled when I got to see it at a friend's who had a home theater, with the most amazing sound system and HD. |  |
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Recently I've been a watering pot. Seriously. I never cry. Ever. Not even during Titanic [and that's before it became something of a joke.] Or funerals (generally). But... now, commercials can make me blubber. Well, choke up at least. This being one of the top. Anyway, I have at least one friend competing in the Olympics, so GO TEAM USA!
(And I still can't watch that without my eyes welling up. If you don't know what happened, his hamstring tore. So he's not American. Still - it's my favorite Olympics commercial, and holy ow.)
So anyway - what are your recent "yay" discoveries, or, what have you "re-discovered" that you're very happy about?
Tags: Limecello, PonderingWhy I’m not at Nationals
July 30, 2008
Since Syb has done her bit, I thought I’d add my mite.
Main reason—expense. I live in the UK, so I can only afford one US conference a year. So I go to RT. Lots of reasons for that—more below.
I’m not a member of the RWA. I belong to the RNA (the UK Romantic Novelists’ Association). I was a member of the RWA, but I didn’t get enough out of it. Only because I live abroad. If I lived in the US, hell yeah, I’d be a member. Even though the RWA has snubbed me twice, and my fellow authors. It’s not personal. But first, ebooks aren’t good enough for them. If you write ebooks, you don’t count. You can, by earning $1000 join PRO, and I do that with most of my releases, but before that stipulation, it used to be by publisher. Secondly, they don’t like writers of erotic romance. My paranormals are of the erotic variety. I’d still be a member, though.
I get a great deal from the RNA, the local chapters and the national conference (which was earlier this month and was totally awesome). Unlike the RWA, you only have to be published by a royalty or advance paying publisher, and to contribute nothing towards publication to join. And there’s the totally awesome New Writers scheme, where unpublished members can present a full manuscript to the RNA and get it critiqued. If the RNA thinks it’s good enough, they’ll even submit it to a suitable publisher for you.
Anyway, back to the RWA. My main reason for visiting the USA is to promote my books, and catch up with friends. I wish it could be different, I wish I earned Rowling-money so I could visit when I wanted, but I can’t. And Romantic Times is far better at the reader-meets-author thing. It really is. They have two big signings during the conference and many readers come to party with the authors and publishers and booksellers. That conference has done a lot to further my career. I’ve met people who have helped me, and I’ve been able to meet people face to face. Although I’m not the greatest socialiser in the world (most writers aren’t) I do need to get away from the laptop from time to time.
The RWA conference looks like a blast, and I have a friend who’s popped over to give it a whirl. Others have visited, and one day I’ll go. Just to see what it’s like. And oh, San Francisco! I’ve never been, and I’d love to go. And at Nationals, Mary Jo Putney might not have stopped me in the lift because she recognised me. Oh wow, I squeed all the way to my room. Sorry, I was so ultra-cool when I met her, but I still squeed later.
syb note: I will enter comments here into the 'betcha contest' too
Tags: Lynne Connolly, Lynne Connolly bares all, PonderingStranger than Fiction?
July 25, 2008
I love me some random things - and I like interspersing light-hearted frivolous posts in the midst of more serious ones... ok who am I kidding - all of mine are rather light - but still. The consensus is that I'm a very random person. Writing reviews is difficult for me because it takes concentration and focus. Some of the other duckies have asked how I manage to read with my lack of attention span. (It's one of those mysteries that likely will never be solved.)
So the purpose of this pondering... isn't really a pondering. Or we can ponder the whys, and wherefores, and whyhows of the events. But what I want to know is... what're some of the weirdest things you've said, heard someone say, said to someone, or witnessed? Bringing it back to books [see, there is some sort of common thread here] - what about books? Some things out there are weird. Generally those are highly disturbing as well, but they need not be. Were-creatures might be one. I know a while ago people were talking about weird paranormal creatures. Were-snakes, were-rats, were-horses? Were-spiders?
However, what was on my mind, was the villain in Shannon McKenna's latest novella, Anytime, Anywhere in the anthology Baddest Bad Boys. If you haven't read it - do. I love Ms. McKenna's stories, and the MacNamara family is one of my favorites. Well, Mac from Meltdown - or the story. But that villain in Anytime. *shudders* Not going to be forgetting that one. Creepy.
Another strange thing - this in real life... I'll give you a few snippets. "I'm going to come into your room and cut off all your hair in the middle of the night." Another that took me aback was "I'm going to punch you in the baby maker." But then I learned s/he stole that from the movie Anchorman. Or "watch this - I can put my entire fist in my mouth." And he could. Then there was a strange call I got that started out with "Hey - so someone threatened to jump off the 7th floor of the Hart Building today." (A rather public someone has an office there.)
The news often has these strange stories too - off the wall "I fell off a cliff while vacationing in Timbuktu, suffered from amnesia, built a boat from Styrofoam cups, sailed around the world, befriended an emu who saved my life, then on tour with my emu tripped on a rock and found my family in the neighboring city."
Or the really cool ones: The Illiterate Surgeon Mamitu, one of the world's premier obstetric fistula surgeons, just started third grade. (You might have read the article in June '05). As opposed to the first which I made up - although I bet there's something similar. Especially the emu part.
But what I'm looking for is real life events. Random bloopers you'll remember for a long time. Like someone standing up at the lunch table saying, "Ok you guys - I have to go to jail now, and prison tomorrow."
Do you ever had something happen to you, or hear something and think I wonder what the rest of that story is? Have you ever written that story? Or just mapped it out in your head, whether you're a writer or not. [Or if you can't think of anything, book talk is fine too. After all this is a reader blog...]
I know you have crazy things happen - let's share a few and go nuts!
Tags: Limecello, Limecello is in Liv's glue this time, PonderingHang in there Sybil…
July 23, 2008
Our fearless leader, Sybil, has been a little under the weather for the last week or so. Bear with us while we nurse her thru this and while everyone gets the summer vacation biz out of the way. We'll be back to entertaining you with fun and frivolity before long.
And now for something completely different...
Tags: Nurse Ratched, Pondering, poor sybils
