Getting Back

Ok, it's been a while since I've posted here. The last few months have been so packed with deaths and births and other, time consuming activities as well as starting a new blog and a new journey that I have neglected to continue working on the blog dedicated to my passions. I have not stopped reading. I have not stopped attending shows. I just haven't taken the time share them here, so those things will be coming and coming soon. I haven't forgotten about you, blog nation, I just took a little break.

More to come.

My Holiday Love

I know that many focus on different things during the holiday season. As we are different people with different backgrounds and interests, our tastes are destined to be different. Me? I love the decor. I love the music. I love driving around and seeing other people's lights (because I'm too lazy to deck the outside of my house). But I think what I love most about the holiday season are the shows. The Nutcracker, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra (though they are not coming to my neck of the woods this year), The Symphony. The same shows every year, but because they only play during the holiday season, they are something I look forward to year after year. This year, I get to treat myself and my mom to The Lion King! I literally cannot wait. I bought my tickets 9 months ago and have been sitting on them looking forward to this weekend all year long. Now, it's just a few days away and I am excited to see it. I'm excited for my mom to see it with me. I love being able to share things like this with her. After that, it's Christmas parties and social gatherings and OH! I'm going to Christmas Town this year! I can't wait to see that and to take some pics to enhance my own display at home! To be completely surrounded by the sights and sounds of Christmas in...get this...GERMANY!!!! I couldn't believe when I saw that was the theme for this year. I'll do a blog later about my love of German and Russian history and where that came from, but that is nothing short of the bee's knees for me and I am super excited! Keeping in mind what this season means for me, both as a Christian and as a lover of wonder and fantasy makes this season an awesome experience...even if it got here so fast that it feels like it just left.

Such a loss

Tonight I lost a near and dear friend. I am positively numb right now. I can't feel anything. My arms, my legs, my head...all numb. I don't want to sleep & I can't believe that he isn't here anymore. I can't believe that I'll never hug him again. I'll never hear his laughter or see his smile. I'll never watch him saunter/strut around the grounds at church anymore. I don't know if this hurts the same or more than it did when I lost my step-dad. My step-dad was sick for a year before he died. My friend was sick for 2 weeks. And now he's gone. I was talking to him last night, going over the football scores, and tonight he's gone. I gave him a hug and a kiss last night before I left his room, and tonight he's gone. All I feel is that he's gone. I've lost. His wife has lost. His kids have lost. His grand kids have lost. He was my extra dad. My backup plan. I dreamed of him walking me down the aisle if I ever got married (since my dad & I don't have the best relationship). I dreamed of him holding my future children and caring for them and being an example to them of what it really meant to be a strong, black, caring man. Now I have none of that. I didn't have 1 dream for my near future that he wasn't in. I feel like I've lost a part of me. A piece of my heart. He means so much to me and now he's gone. And I'm at a loss. I don't even know what else to say. I spent the whole day helping his family and I'm just getting to deal with me. I feel alone. Empty. Lost.

Breaking Dawn (Spoilers!!)

So I finished the last novel in the Twilight series last night & I must say, I really enjoyed it. Coming from my standpoint, I can't see why so many people had issues with this final book. My only "issue" so-to-speak is that it was sooo long. She could have truly gotten 2 or even 3 books out of that 1 novel. But she chose not to & I read it so...issue squashed. There were many things I truly liked about this story. Number 1, it goes so easily into non-sleeping vampire Bella that I didn't realize for a long while that, while Jacob and the baby slept, she didn't. Duh, that's part of the vampire twist in this book! I loved the whole birth and changing scene! It did great for allowing me to use my imagination and I actually it twice. The other transition that was so smooth that I almost missed it was them calling Bella's ability to block out everyone, or not be read by anyone, a "shield." By the time I realized it they were prepping for battle. I could keep going on. The battle/showdown was really good and gave a distinct look at the corruption of the volturri and an understanding of why Carlisle decided to part their company years ago. So, without giving too much away, the book was really good. Even though I didn't want to see the series end, the ending felt like the end. Like there was no need to go any further and no need to know anything else. After all, once Edward, Bella, Renesmee & Jacob are safe & all happily ever after, what else is there? How much attention could be gathered & kept in a story about any of the other characters, including Renesmee & Jacob, without Bella & Edward? I might pick the book up, but I don't know if I'm going to get that far in reading it. I read the whole book & the only part I truly focused on of Jacob's story was Renesmee's birth...because that involved Bella. Now don't get me wrong, I remember his whole story, but his voice, his mindset wasn't as enthralling as Bella's. So, I'm going to let this go. All in all, I am glad that I decided to pick the books up and read them. I'm glad they were different from the other stories out there and I'm glad I read and remember them from cover to cover...I think! Next...The Passage by John Cronin. There are a few books in between, but that's the next vampire book I'm slated to read.

Can't All Be The Same

So, one of the things I have noticed as I read books & read reviews of books by regular readers just like me is that many people complain or take issue with the fact that books are not written as they expect or as they want them to be written. Now, don't get me wrong, a bad read is a bad read, any way you slice it, but a good or decent read that has deviated from the norm is not a reason to trash a book...is it? Case in point, I have been reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer & am on the 4Th book right now. My only issue with the book is that it is sooooo long! It truly could have been 3 books. And I have found myself needing to take a break after reading it for 3 1/2 days & not being done yet! That doesn't normally happen. I read The Good House by Tananarive Due cover to cover until I was done. Granted it took me about 3 weeks to do so, but I did it without feeling tired or overwhelmed by the story. To be completely honest, the only thing that is overwhelming me about Breaking Dawn is that I truly want to know what happens at the end of the book without flipping ahead (reading on my Kindle keeps me from doing that). Now I haven't finished the book, but as I read the reviews from others who have, I pretty much see the same complaints all the way around: Its not believable because its so different from other vampire stories; it's harder to enjoy because Bella seems so desperate, etc. Other people have just said its a piece of shit and they hated it (mind you they read and/or bought the 3 others). My point is this: Why or HOW can you enjoy reading the same thing over & over again? One of the things that I appreciate about the book is that it is different from the typical vampire stories. BTW, let me clarify that vampires are not real, so criticizing a fictional story for being unrealistic is just retarded! But, back to my point, these stories are written differently, primarily because of the audience that they were written for. Typically, a vamp bite with the exchange of blood does the trick for conversion. Typically, vampires are extremely sexual beings (excluding Louie from the dear Anne Rice) & are very much into satisfaction and are able to do so without damaging their guest for the night. But in this series, there's no need for the exchange of blood, there are "vegetarian" vamps who can't have sex with humans because they may break them to bits. I say this to say that I think readers (movie watchers, TV viewers, etc.) should be careful of how they criticize and what they criticize for. It seems a little counterproductive to complain & shoot down a book because the author chose to tell a story in a different way or create a story like no one has ever heard before. Isn't that what art is all about? And to add to that, I think that the complaints that folk have would be lessened greatly if the series were not such a hit. We still are a society that works to shoot down that which is lifted up, regardless of who it impacts. Having said that, let me make it clear, there are books I have read that have not enjoyed. But that is primarily because they were not written well. However, there are other readers who don't agree with me. For example, I read Timothy McCann's Forever & that was enough to let me know I didn't want to read anything else by him. On the other hand, I read The Other Woman by Eric Jerome Dickey on a loan, loved it, went out and bought Genevieve...didn't love it so much. I don't know where I wanted to go with that now, but I think my point is that some you take, some you leave, but just because you want to leave it, doesn't mean that it won't be taken by someone else.