Nope! He Doesn't Like Me - Ep: 33

Movie Review

This weekend Teresa and I watched The Artist, the 2011 Oscar winner for Best Picture. I had wanted to see it, but kept forgetting to add it to my Netflix queue. 

The Artist, starring Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, and John Goodman, is about a silent movie star who meets a young lady who is trying to make it in the picture business. She slowly moves her way up to being a star. She is also in the first talking pictures, while the silent movies and silent movie star gets pushed aside.

This movie was a lot of fun to watch. Who would have thought making a silent movie in 2011 would be successful! I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is a fan of old movies.

Book Review!

My favorite books to read are book that are made into movies. I love to read the book, then go to the movies to see how it has been brought to live. This usually happens in that order, book then movie. However, this is one of those times where I read the book after seeing the movie. 

Book Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo's undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo's dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.

I actually saw Hugo, the movie, a few months ago and enjoyed it very much. It was a magical movie, and the book was just as magical, if not more. It is a wonderful story and it is beautifully illustrated. I would recommend this book to everyone!

Top of The Hops!

This past week I won a pair of tickets to the Top of The Hops beer festival from the Jackson Free Press! I was so excited. This is something I had wanted to go to of the last couple of years, but didn't really want to fork out the $40 bucks to go. 

I took Teresa with me. Although she is more of a Cheerleader beer kind of gal, she had been wanting to branch out and try real beer. So this beer festival was perfect! And it helps that I have a co-worker who is a beer connoisseur, who printed the beer list and highlighted all the beers Teresa should try. Thanks Lacey!

There were over 150 different kinds of beer to try. Of course, we didn't try them all, but we did try to hit up the bigger breweries that were there. With the new beer law that pasted last month, the festival was the biggest one thus far. We had so much fun! Looking forward to next years festival.

Today I got...

a library card! This is something I had been meaning to do for a while but hadn't gotten around to it until now. Mostly because A) I had a love for owning books and B) in order to get a card I needed to bring two proofs I live in Hinds County, my electric and water bill, which I kept forgetting to put in my bag. Today I finally remembered! Yay!

Turn About The Room - EP: 32

Book Review

Summary: Kira, an orphan with a twisted leg, lives in a world where the weak are cast aside. She fears for her future after her mother dies at the beginning of the book until she is spared by the all-powerful Council of Guardians. Kira is a gifted embroiderer and is assigned a task that no other community member can carry out. Her task is to repair and restore the singer's robe worn by the singer at the yearly gathering. She meets an older dyer Annabella and learns secrets she never knew and becomes friends with a boy named Matt who later lives to be Matty in Messenger. She also meets Thomas and Jo two more artists whose parents have died. While her talent keeps her alive and brings certain privileges, Kira soon realizes that she is surrounded by mysteries and secrets. No one must know of her plans to uncover the truth about her world—and to find out what exists beyond it.

I recently read The Giver by Lois Lowry and decided to read the next book in The Giver series. This book took a little while to get into, but after the first few chapters, it was hard to put down. In the beginning of the book, the author paints a picture of how the world is for the main character. It kept you guess what was going to happen next, and had an ending I was not expecting. I would recommend to children and adults alike. 

I have the third book, Messenger, on my Kindle. Can't wait to read it soon!

Convertible Carpool - EP: 31

Outside Window at Work

Ticking Clock - Ep: 30

Book Review

Book Description: Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker - his classmate and crush - who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah's pain, and learns the truth about himself-a truth he never wanted to face.

Today I finished Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I heard about it a while back and finally found a copy on sale. Even though the subject matter is was deep and serious, I could not put this book down. It makes you think about your actions, weather good or bad, can leave an impression someones life. This is a young adult book, but I think just about anyone could learn something from this book.

AT&T TV Commercial -- "Afternoon Run"

I saw this commercial for AT&T this morning. It made me giggle. This commercial features Ryan Hall, a long distance runner and Olympian. He listens to Homer's The Odyssey for his short run, then starts Herman Melville's Moby Dick for his run back home.

Ethics of Seeing Bing - Ep: 29

Book Review

Summary: During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.

Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.

I recently picked up this young adult book called Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. I had never heard of this book but I have enjoyed several book by this author lately and decided to give this one a try. Although this was a fiction book, the facts about the yellow fever in 1793 were real. It was very interesting to see how far medicine and cures have come. And the chaos an epidemic can cause the then "modern" city of Philadelphia, PA. I would recommend this to children and adults alike.

Meeting Bing Lee - Ep: 28

Book Review

Today I finally finished Battle Royale by Koshun Takami. This book had been on my wish list for a while, and John surprised me and got it for me. 

This book was basically the Japanese version of The Hunger Games. Only with more children and gorier. Think The Hunger Games meets Kill Bill. Battle Royale is about an alternative future dictatorship Japan. There a junior high school class, who think they are going on a school filed trip, but end up being part of The Program. Each student is given a bag with bread, water, and a weapon (anything from a Uzi to a salad fork). Then  they are released one by one on an island and are forced to fight to the death! 

I really enjoyed this book, it kept you guessing how it was all going to end. If anyone decides to read this book, I would recommend making a copy of the map and the list of students, located at the beginning. There are 42 students to keep track of (some longer then others) and they are Japanese names. 

Welcome to Netherfield - Ep: 27

Mom's Convoluted Plan - Ep: 26

Vidcon Interruption - EP: 25