The Sunday Salon Sunday Rambles

Happy Sunday!!

Outside my window: Hot and sunny this Sunday afternoon. The haze from the fires isn't as bad as it's been though, so that's a good thing. We can actually breathe when we go out.

I am cannot stop listening to: Gotye. All the time, Goyte. I'm thinking this one is not a passing fancy, but one that's going to stick with me, know what I mean? I'm sorry, you my readers, may have to be dealing with this for quite some time.

Song of the week: A new-to-me Gotye song I discovered just the other day, one not on my CD, has been really quite fun to play over and over:






Oh, and you must listen to this one too, please? It's a little more "normal" so don't be scared.




TV Talk:  Buffy Buffy Buffy! Oh, and I watched one Dr. Who episode, and I watched Falling Skies last Sunday. Wahoo for that show! And... that's about all the TV for me this past week. 

READING REPORT: 
Books Finished: Lady Susan by Jane Austen. 
Books Started: Caribbean Crossroads by Connie Sokol
Books Up Next: You know, I'm winging it this month... I have no idea until I'm actually reading it. 

I am thinking wondering: if ennui is a true physical ailment. I have some kids who seem to be very much affected with it! What to do what to do? (Def: A gripping listlessness or melancholia caused by boredom;) Actually, I've been feeling a bit affected too, with reading and blogging and all manner of other normal pursuits. I'm hoping that once this month is over I can concentrate and feel "normal" again. Here's hoping.

I'm grateful for: for my Kindle, because I seem to be warming up to this whole e-reader thing and all my books lately have been on that thing. Truly loving it.

Around the house: Nothing new at all to report, nothing new on the bedroom redoing, nothing organized lately, nothing fixed or rearranged. Nothing. 

Favorite things of the week: Going to see Spiderman. That was sweet. I need to see another one... movie. But there's nothing much else good that's out right now. Just waiting for Batman. Then what's next after that? 

Utah Book Bloggers: If you got an email from me with a blogger interview assignment, I need to know what day in August you'd like to post your interview! Let me know!



Family Matters: Tomorrow everyone works! Here's the schedule for five people: 9 to 1, noon to 6, 10:30 to 7, 11 to 3, and 9 to 6. And I think we'll all have transportation!  Only the youngest will not be out and about, but all this means she has to get herself to violin lessons! If we can fix her bike! Anyway, yeah for "lazy" summer days, right? 

The coming week: Get ready for camp. Both camps. One family, one church. Buy food, plan activities, prepare, try not to stress, stay calm, buy more food, clean trailer. Buy food. Oh wait... is there a book event I'm going to this week? Jenny? Yes? I think so, okay, so not EVERYTHING will be camp prep this week!



Well, I think that's all I have for now. See you around!

Buffy Watch Season Two Episodes 9-12

I didn't think I'd have some Buffy to report on this week, but yesterday Kelly and I managed four more episodes. Maybe we'll do more today and tomorrow too, but we'll see.

This time as I watched, I had fun jotting down some lines that stuck out to me. Enjoy!
(I'm interested if major Buffy fans can identify who is saying each of these lines. Give it a try!)

Season Two

Episode 9: What's My Line? Part 1

"That's not a nothing face, that's a something face."
"I lurk."
"I have frog fear."

In the end... this one was sort of boring. I mean, I know it was mostly a build up for the next episode which concludes things, but this first one was just okay for me. Sorry big fans....

Episode 10: What's My Line? Part 2

My first thought as the episode opened was this one.... Angel, you are a vampire! You can bust the cage! I know you can!

"I am flummoxed." "What's the flum?"
"I don't do worms."
"Hey, your hair is... brown."
"Angel's our friend, except I don't  like him."
"I am the bugman... kukucachoo." (this one made me laugh out loud literally)

Kissing music... classic! More out loud laughing. Love this new development with Xander and Cordelia!
Also love Willow and Oz walking away talking so perfectly geeky.

In the end... I really enjoyed this one, so very funny.

Episode 11: Ted

"That's the sound she makes when she is speechless with geeker joy."

John Ritter!
It's the food people, the food!
Ah nice... erroneous Mormon joke. Ha ha. :)

In the end....it was ho hum... even with John Ritter. But it was nice to see him again. He was sufficiently creepy for this episode.

Episode 12: Bad Eggs

(oops.... no lines were jotted down during this one!)

Creepy egg things. Ew gross.
Once again, I love the whole Xander Cordelia thing... and I'm getting a kick out of the fact that they are trying to keep it a secret. I'm wondering, though, how long they can keep this gag working. I can see it getting old pretty fast.

In the end... I have not much to say about this one. Kelly and I decided to sum it up in one word... WEIRD!

We are finding that we enjoy the episodes that feature the vampires (even if they are wimpy) and not the other strange and creepy creatures that are being dreamed up. As always, I'm very interested in the developing relationships. I'm rooting for whatever makes Giles happy, and for Willow and Oz. Not sure what I'm thinking about Buffy and Angel at the moment... it's turned into just kissing which is not as fun as bantering back and forth. Make sense? Anyway... we'll see!!

Photoaday July Day 1 through 6

Day 1: Self Portrait
I was sleepy... okay?

Day Two: Busy
Making dinner.

Day 3: Best Part of My Day
Buying a new thing for the house.

Day 4: Fun
Very fun actually.

Day 5: On the Floor
During the most awesome rainstorm we finally had.

Day 6: Chair
(or in this case... chairs)
Arranging for a work party.

The City Creek Center in Salt Lake City

In addition to going to Spider-man for our 4th of July celebrations, we finally managed a trip to the much talked about new mall right in the heart of Salt Lake City called City Creek Center. It was a beautiful place! And huge! Much bigger than I expected. We didn't shop much, but did end up with some chocolate and some lunch. Anyway, I had a blast taking some pictures and wanted to share.

The first thing that everyone does upon arrival... take a picture
in front of the fountains.

The fountains dance to music, as some fountains tend to do.

The temple framed by the fountains, another must do picture.

We were mesmerized be these guys.

I liked their sign!

Another fountain shot.

Chocolate calls.

It's so hard to choose... we went with thin mints.

The creek runs through the whole mall.... very pretty.

There's also a retractable roof!

The view of Main Street as we crossed to the other side.

Macy's anchors one side, and Nordstrom's the other.

Not sure what that sculpture is about!

I loved how the whole mall was nestled in between all the
high rises of the city.

There's a waterfall too!

I wish we would have had more time to see it all, but at least we managed a little. It was really fun!

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-man

Movie: The Amazing Spider-man
Genre: Science Fiction
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone
Rating: PG-13
MY Rating: Two thumbs Up!

I've been a big fan of the Tobey Maguire Spider-man movies all along, and like most people, the first thought I had when I heard there was going to be a new version of Spider-man... was... "Really? Already?"

But I'm also a huge Andrew Garfield fan and so my instant next thought was, "Okay, I can do that!" And I didn't really care that they, the movie people, had decided it was already time for another Spider-man reincarnation. I mean, so what, right?

Still, I was worried about it, that it wouldn't measure up, that people would bash it, that Andrew Garfield really couldn't pull it off, that it would be stupid, etc. etc. You know... all those really deep important movie questions that we all love to ponder.

However, after having seen it yesterday as part of our holiday celebrations, I can report that, at least for me, none of that was an issue. I loved the movie! I loved Andrew Garfield in the title role, I loved the story, I loved the effects, I loved it all. Granted, I'm easy to please, but yes, I loved it.

We saw it at the IMAX theater... in 3D... so if that's your thing, you should do it. Flying around with Spider-man was pretty cool and tickled my stomach several times. Yeah, I'm a sucker for this stuff, does that make me geeky? I'm afraid so. Yeah, the louder, the more bone jarring, the bigger, the brighter... the better!

This version of Spider-man gave us more insight into Peter Parker's background and what was going on with his dad. It gave us sympathetic villain with a back story that had meaning. It felt real and human, in and among the superhero stuff. I really liked that.

But mostly I totally loved Andrew Garfield's portrayal of this character. In a word, he was awesome. If you've had reservations, you should just go see it and see what you think. Besides, the music is also awesome.

My only complaints were stupid things like... how can a school get nearly destroyed by some pretty massive fighting and yet they are back there going to school again the next day with no visible evidence. Same with getting shot in the leg and then bam... back at school! Same with destroying your bathroom, and then... everything is okay? See, these are the strange things I think about! But nothing very distracting.

Bottom line: Loved it!

Here's the trailer if you haven't yet seen it:

Book Review: The Hollow City by Dan Wells

Book: The Hollow City by Dan Wells
Genre: Horror/ Psychological Thriller
Rating: ★★★★★
For: Review (and Support Local Authors!)
From: ARC borrowed from the library staff (to be released July 3, 2012)

Back a few months ago when Dan Wells visited the library and did a little presentation, he left the staff with an ARC for this book. It immediately fell into my hands since the fact that I'm a bit of a fan has spread through the ranks. Needless to say, I was so very excited. In fact, it's quite possible I may have squealed a bit.

Now finally, since it's being released this week, I can tell you about it!

I read the book in about two sittings. It's a mind boggling, fascinating look inside the mind of a schizophrenic patient that left me feeling so... so... confused and crazy!

Michael is the main character and we learn from the very start that he has had some issues determining what is real in his life, and what is not. He knows he has these issues and is very forthcoming about them, but that doesn't change the fact that he can't figure a lot of things out and doesn't know what's going on around him.

Since the book is in first person, and we are only in his head... guess who else can't determine what is real.... or not? Or what exactly is going on? Yes, we, the readers.

I LOVED this! Even if it did make me crazy! Which is the whole point I think, to feel crazy. Literally.

So Michael ends up in the psychiatric ward of the hospital and is being visited by his one or two friends, including a doctor who is trying to help him. One of his many issues is that he feels like he is being watched and monitored, especially through electronic devices. He has a major problem with them! And he's not sure the doctor is friend or foe either. In fact, is the doctor in on the whole bad thing that Michael thinks is going on?

Good question Michael!

He also keeps seeing some very strange faceless creatures... which is especially creepy. And he is constantly telling himself that they are not real. But.... are they?

I was going to mention the hollow city itself, but I think I'll just let you read it and find out for yourself what that all has to do with anything. I'm afraid of giving too much away. But I will say that after I read the last page I thought, "What the heck just happened? Did I just read what I think I read? Oh my gosh! I am so confused!"

Now granted, some of you may find finishing a book and feeling confused not such a good thing, but I found it fun and entertaining and quite the blast. My next step was make sure Jenny had the book as soon as as she could and then I told her she had to read it FAST so we could talk. She was done in just a day or two and we talked everything through and got it all figured out! Ha! (Be sure to check out her review here!)

And now... I can't wait for you ALL to read it and we can all talk together and see if we can make sense of this story! Okay, is it a plan? Let me know when you are done!

Bottom line: I loved this one! Everything about it... the writing, the characters, the story and yes, even the craziness!

Other Reviews:

Elitist Book Reviews
Shallee McArthur
Afterglow Book Reviews

June Reading Recap

Hey look at that! I read some books this month!


Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: Two British girls join the forces in WWII, one as a pilot and one as a spy.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake: This guy hunts ghosts, but when he comes to hung Anna, things change.

I Believe in Jesus Too by Mark S. Nielsen: Children all over the world share how they worship.

About a Boy by Nick Hornby: Will feels no connection with the world until he meets Marcus.

Cayman Summer by Angela Morrison: Michael and Leesie have a happily ever after.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: Wade competes in a futuristic video game to win the virtual reality world called Oasis.

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne: Fourteen kids are stranded in a department store after a disaster occurs.

Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale: Miri goes to the big city to go to school and help advise the new princess. (Review to come later... this book will be released in August.)

Not bad, but I'm still ten books behind if I want to read 100 this year. Yeah, whatever. My favorites of this bunch: About a Boy, and Code Name Verity... and probably Ready Player One too.

Plans for July:

• Keep working on Robin Hood, which I've totally neglected.
• Re-read A Tale of Two Cities
• Re-read Pride and Prejudice with Jenni.
• Read for the first time the two little, early Jane Austen books... Lady Susan and Love and Friendship
• Finish Forever Odd, maybe even this very today!
• Read one or two from this list.
• Gear up for Utah Book Month in August!