For all You Hoodie Wearing Kids..Ask Geraldo, It's the Hoodie's Fault

Geraldo Rivera finds real culprit in Trayvon Martin slaying: The hoodie

This entire fiasco offends me.. First off the man was afraid of a child in a hoodie.. he was acting in self defense? HOW? Trayvon didn't even have a weapon. That anyone even remotely accepts that reasoning ticks me off..

I hate when people throw the race card out there.. oh you did that because you are white.. Or you did that to me because I am black.. I grew up in the 60's and 70's and honestly, because of the fact that my mom is the least racist person in the world.. I seriously thought that racism was something we only read about in the history books..

Of course I grew up in Southern California and as a High Schooler I did see the racism against Mexicans.. and yes back then the correct term was Mexican.. I NOT being politically incorrect.
But.. back on track.. this incident was a case of Racism pure and simple.. unless Geraldo is right and it was the Hoodie.. Then my kids better watch out as they LIVE in hoodies.. Hair Boy even has dreads these days.. so a tall kid w/dreads and a hoodie.. scares me.. At one point Word Girl had 14 different school related hoodies and various other ones as well.. Blond Girl actually "V's" the neck when she starts to out grow them to make them last longer and PITA Boy lives in his Green Bay Packer Hoodies (We do live in Chicago so that might be cause for me to worry).. My point being it's not the FREAKING HOODIE..

For the first time ever I have respect for LeBron James and his Miami Heat team mates..  I say we all wear our hoodies.. We are all, Trayvon Martin




Look at that beautiful boy.. we lost him way too soon.!!

Fortunately, or unfortunately this case was not about the hoodie.. it was about an idiot with a gun!

Disappointing My Baby

Today I got some bad news that I have yet to impart to Blond Girl.. She was supposed to go away with church to North Carolina tomorrow. She was very very excited and has been getting things ready.

I got a phone call today that told me because of her history (she had a health scare at camp last summer) that they do not feel comfortable allowing her to go. She is going to be heartbroken.. 

The thing that makes me angry is I started this ball rolling.. I sent an email explaining what they should do if she should have an incident. Which hasn't happened since the New Year.. Then I received the phone call. So by my being proactive.. about something that probably won't happen they are not going to let her go.. 

I understand where they are coming from but I am just ANGRY..

She's Almost A Teen So gets a post on this page

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LILLIPER!!! 

To the very best of nieces.. I LOVE YOU

Blond Girl Points Out the Obvious

With all the talk of the World Ending in 2012, Blond Girl made a very accurate point. Umm hello, The Mayans did not celebrate Leap Day.. that means that every four years for what 5000 years, a day was not accounted for. Very interesting.. To take her point even further she did the actual math, which I of course do not have.. Anyway her point being, if we were really going by the Mayan Calender 12, 21, 2012 would have come 7 plus months ago.. Ooops the world has already ended and we just don't know it.

I love it when our kids have more common sense than we do!! Of course Earth could be hit by a meteor tomorrow.. We have no clue and counting on an ancient calendar to determine the end of the world is pretty stupid. It's like listening to the quasi predictions of Nostradamus.. Sure it COULD happen but it's not a sign. Now if I am wrong and the world does end on 12, 21, 2012 I  give you all permission to send a letter of complaint..

Shauni

Infamous, A Review

Infamous, by Sherrilyn Kenyon pretty much says it all.. who needs to actually write a review? But I will try. When JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I hated it. It wasn’t because it was dark, I got that, it wasn’t poorly written, it wasn’t about the fact that the world was out to get Harry, No. It was about the fact that 15 year old Harry had a huge attitude. It took me forever to realize that it was the only realistic thing in the book. I had a 15 year old male child at the time and it was like reading a mirror description of what I had at home. Why speak of Harry Potter in a review about Nick Gautier? Well because he too is 15 and Sherry got it oh so right. Yes, his trademark, Nick Gautier attitude is there but so is this dark, seething, brooding male of the human species. 


Infamous is much darker than the previous two books and we see Nick’s battle really gearing up. His relationship with Ambrose starts to make sense and we begin to get a peak at how Sherry is going to combine this Nick with the Nicky we have already met and fell in love with the early days of the Dark Hunter Series. We get a lot of information in this book and it leaves the rollicking good time concept of the first two books. But that makes sense, Nick is growing both as an adolescent human and as the Malachai.. The good news, even though it is most indeed darker than the previous books it in no way compares to Sherrie’s offering to suffering and despair, Archeron, although it has it’s moments. I suppose to really understand a character of such depth that Nick is turning out to be we must first understand how they came to where they are. Fortunately for us, we get Nick in pieces instead of all rolled up in one book. This way we still get to see the charming, snarky,  pain in the derriere that we call Nick.


Infamous in many ways is about relationships.. Nick’s relationship with Kody, Caleb and most importantly his mother. We also find out about Bubba and his family and get to meet his mother, the dynamics of this relationship come as quite the surprise. It also embraces the concept of creating a family, knowing who your friends are and in learning to trust them. We also learn that sometimes those that you think are on your side, aren’t. 


This story begins, the real story not the prologue, as Nick, Kody and Caleb walk into home room and discover that something nasty is happening at the school. First off there are horrid pictures of Brynna Adams (yes one of those Adams) manufactured and posted on computer.. then students are posting rumors and innuendo on another person’s locker.. Then all heck breaks loose as Nick and crew try to get to the bottom of things. Nick has to battle Demons both inner and outer, in this realm and other ones.. He has to fight his mother to be heard, truly heard and worst of all, he is in constant battle with true evil, humans. 


Along the way he is beaten, betrayed and not believed. Every time he does what is right, what we know is right someone takes him down for it. He has to battle his way through demons, makes his first sneak appearance into Azmodea and enjoys a rather strange first meeting between Nick and Asmodeus. Ok, could a meeting between those two be anything but strange? But I giggled my way through it, I couldn’t help myself. Adarian Malachai makes his presence felt and in doing so we learn a few interesting facts about why Nick can be saved.. Nicky also makes a deal with someone that infuriates an unbelieving Ambrose. 


As I previously stated Infamous is a dark, brooding, cacophony of the demons that control us but it has it’s fun moments and it is endearing in the way Nick continues to really want to be normal, human and good. Yes, Nick has way more battles ahead but he shows such promise. Maybe Ambrose will finally be happy. Do I recommend this book, heck yeah.. it is a must read for those who are following Nick’s chronicles but more than that it stands as a wonderful example as why Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of the leading PNR writers today.


Shauni

Interesting info From Author Gaelen Foley

It's Friday so I am sure the Hot Off the Press feature is going to run wild.. That seems to be the way it's been working of late..

Here is a post from Gaelen Foley..

For a long time, whenever people asked me if I ever wanted to write any other kind of book, I had always said that "someday" I would love to try my hand at a children's novel. "Middle grade" literature was formative for me as a writer - all those great books from Black Beauty to Little Women to Huck Finn to Nancy Drew to the Narnia tales. Well, the time for "someday" has come.

Over the past couple years, in my spare time, working in tandem with my husband, who is an educator and teaches this age group, Eric and I have been working on a series idea that we fell in love with, called The Gryphon Chronicles. I am thrilled to announce that this summer, (while you're still waiting for Inferno Book 5 - MY SCANDALOUS VISCOUNT, Beau & Carissa's story - Coming in October!) I will be able to bring you the first installment of The Gryphon Chronicles - Book 1: THE LOST HEIR, a fantasy adventure (with a hint of steampunk!) that's as much fun for grownups as it is for kids.

Set in Victorian England, THE LOST HEIR has the kind of adventure and heart you are used to from a Foley novel, but is perfectly suitable for children (PG rated) It's got fairies, ghosts, a gryphon as you can see (below), Thames water nymphs, and many other whimsical, magical creatures.

If you're familiar with my books, then you have probably noticed the spunky, ragtag London orphans who occasionally are befriended by my protective heroes and kindhearted heroines. Well, THE LOST HEIR actually focuses on one such kid - an orphaned pickpocket in Victorian London. His name is Jake, and as he will learn in the course of his story, he is in fact the longlost heir of an aristocratic family...with magical powers! 

COMING SUMMER 2012

I am certainly not surprised that it will have that Steampunk atmosphere.. Gaelen does that dark brooding type of romance so very well so the fact that her YA book will have it as well.. nope doesn't surprise me at all

Blond Girl and Tolkien Cloaks..

I was telling a blond girl, about a conversation I had with Author Jessa Slade, about laundry of all things.. The conversation went from my insanely obsessive laundry habits to her writing a post on dressing a character. I pointed out that it would be a really interesting post because so many authors go overboard in the clothing description department..

At this point in the story it, gets interesting..

Me: Some authors go on and on about designers and frills and...


Blond Girl: *cough* JRR Tolkien *cough* 


 Me: JRR Tolkien? (I was astounded..how dare she? She was raised on Tolkien she knows he can do no wrong)

Blond Girl: Mom FOUR pages on describing a cloak.. FOUR pages (she was warming up now)

Me: Seriously?

Blond Girl: Mom, it borders on Grapes of Wrath Bad...

Me: Dumbfounded stare.. Grapes of Wrath Bad? (For those that don't know Grapes of Wrath is my least favorite book in the entire world.. I hate Steinbeck's need to take four chapters to describe in minute detail, the DUST BOWL.. no dialog, just excruciating detail about dust)


Blond Girl: Ok, maybe not as bad.. but you get the point..

When I finished rolling my eyes and trying to out argue her.. I was quite proud.. My girl could discuss the Grapes of Wrath and Lord of the Rings in One conversation..

Happy Brithday Dr Seuss

Over at Speculative Fiction they are doing celebrating Dr Seuss' birthday by doing Seuss style blog

Here's my attempt

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss
you'd be here if I choose
you'd be here to write a book
you'd be here to meet a zook

If I had my way
You'd be here to stay
writing writing every day
maybe even writing a play

If you were here
I would stand up and cheer
wishing you well
with my silly spell

but you are not
things aren't so hot
you've been gone a while
But I still smile

when I hear about ham
and someone named sam
whenever a hoo let's out a shout
or a screech is out and about

I miss you today
All of the way
But at least we know
what you tried to show

that you were you,
that is truer than true
and there is no one alive, who is Youer than You!!

@Shauni

hey don't laugh it's a poem

No School Again and Again and Again

Today was what Blond Girl's school calls a 12:12 day..it's pretty self explanatory.. they get out of school at 12:12. This happens a few times a year and after 10 years I am almost used to it. They have all their regular classes except 0 hour, it's gym and not worth the time for her to go to school early for a 20 min gym class.

Now 12:12 day wouldn't be bad if they didn't also get tomorrow off.. Yep some sort of teacher institute day.. then Monday because it's Casimir Polaski day *rolls eyes*.. so a 4 and a half day weekend.. Again wouldn't be so bad had they not just gotten presidents day off.. then two weeks before that, Martin Luther King Day.. yep from mid January to mid March they pretty much get every other Monday off.. PLUS a 12:12 day and a Friday or two tossed in..

Oh yeah.. did I mention that EVERY Thursday is an early dismissal day? They get off an hour early? I know teachers work hard, that they are expected to perform miracles and they need time to plan. I know that many of these early dismissal days they spend in meetings and classes.. but it is just so frustrating.. and frustrating is the theme for today it seems.