Book Club! - Divergent

I love to read so I decided to include a blurb and small review of a book I just finished.

Divergent by Veronica Roth (first in the trilogy, second is entitled Insurgent, third to be published)


From Goodreads:
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.


About the author:
Veronica Roth is the "New York Times" bestselling author of "Divergent," the first in a trilogy of dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.




My opinion:
If you liked the Hunger Games and such dystopian type stories than you should read this.

It starts a little slow to give the back story but once I got through the first section I was already hooked by the story and characters. It was a quick and east read and the cliffhanger made me yearn to read the second in the trilogy right away.

Road Trip!

Hubby, Kiddo and I are going to go on a short road trip to visit hubby's older sister and her hubby.  Since they moved to their current house we have not been to visit (~2 years). In our defense its 7-8 hours drive to get there, Kiddo is still very young (she will be 3 in November), and we did fly across the country last year (spending lots of $ to do so) for their wedding.

This will be Kiddo's first road trip that lasts longer than 3 hours (previous ones were to weddings and the airport). The longest trip we have taken her on to date was last year when we went to that wedding. I have to admit that though I was extremely worried about how she would behave during our two flights there and back I can't complain... mostly because she slept almost the whole flight, every flight. But I am sure that was a fluke and in any case I can't expect her to sleep for 8 hours straight, and not keep us up all night afterwards.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Here is my hope for how the hours in the car will be spent.

~12:30pm - Leave town (we would leave earlier but some of us have to work at least a few hours)

~1-1:30  - Stop and grab some lunch. This should keep Kiddo busy for a little while. Hopefully until ~2pm

After we finish eating I am banking on her taking her nap.

Nap ~2 hours so. Let’s say ~4-4:30pm.

By the time she is waking up we could probably stop and get gas if needed. Since she will have to use the potty anyways once she gets up. That gives us a few minutes to get out and move around some.

Back on the road shortly after. Still would have ~4 hours to entertain her. But I will be prepared!

· Movies for the DVD player - Tangled, Shaun the Sheep, Dora, Elmo, + a few others

· Snacks and Drinks - healthy and not so healthy options

· Magna doodle

· Games and Crafts

Arrive ~ 8:30pm give or take. Hopefully with sanity still intact.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Here is the more likely scenario:

~ 2pm Leave town because someone ended up working later than we hoped. Due to this we have already eaten lunch but will instead snack the whole way.

~2:15 Kiddo is bored... we haven't even gotten out of the county yet!

~2:30 After attempts at entertaining her with toys and games listed above fail, the first movie is turned on.

~3pm Finally there is silence as she falls into a slumber.

~3:30pm Hubby gets cut off and yells obscenities loudly waking Kiddo up. Grrr. Time to stop for potty break. Lots of protests to getting back in the car... mostly by me.

~4pm Forced back into the van. Attempts to entertain are futile.

~5pm Lots of tears by everyone.

~6pm Stop for gas and bathroom breaks. Decide to have dinner. Happiness is fleeting as our order is incorrect and Kiddo is unhappy with her meal.

~ 7pm Since napping was elusive bedtime comes early for Kiddo.

~8:30pm Nope I was wrong it wasn't bedtime, just a nap and now its over. Screams of "let me out" fill the van. She doesn't care where Dora is going or when Rapunzel's life will begin.

Arrive ~10pm, there are no sane thoughts in our heads. We are already dreading the drive back in a few days and thus have decided to relocate altogether to save ourselves the trouble. Drinking may ensue after Kiddo is in bed for the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I will let you know how the trip goes and all the sites we see. Knowing our luck the weather will be crap and Kiddo will be a grouch the whole time.

Halloween



In her costume, hanging out in a tree



Halloween is my favorite holiday! I know you are probably thinking that I am a crazy person but hear me out.

OK... so what other holidays allow you to go around pretending to be someone or something else and get candy? NONE. Besides Halloween when is it acceptable to have spiderwebs hanging from every corner? NEVER. What other times am I allowed to, and even encouraged to, scare the neighbor kids who run around in my neighborhood like they are demon spawn? NONE.

So with these things combined with my love of fall, Halloween is just the perfect holiday. If that isn't enough of a reason, then I suppose that I should just tell you that my dad is also a huge fan of Halloween and finding odd outfits to wear to the parties that he has been invited to.



Happy Pumpkin



I have already been listening to "halloween" music for weeks. I am so excited that I have already made Kiddo's fairy costume (her outfit is always homemade), decorated the porch and carved the pumpkins (freehand). The only things I haven't done are buy the candy (It would be gone by now anyways if I had bought it) and figure out my costume for this year.

In the past I have been:

Athena ,Godess of War

Lady Justice

Jackie Kennedy and my BFF was Marilyn Monroe  circa 1960

Dorothy from Wizard of Oz

Madonna circa 1980s and my hubby (then he was just boyfriend) was Sean Penn circa 1980s



Scary Pumpkin



Here is some of Dad's list:

Britney Spears (this was during her Hit Me Baby One More Time)

Hans and Franz from SNL - Dad was one and my uncle was the other.

Dog the Bounty Hunter - Dad was Dog, my Mom was Beth and my uncle was Leland.

Geico Cavemen once agin with my uncle

And... the whole family once went as the Brady Bunch.

What are you going to be for Halloween?


It's my birthday!



My flowers



Ok, I know most adults could care less about their birthdays. I am however not one of those people and today (Oct 11th) was my birthday!

I still had to go to work and all that normal day to day stuff but it was an awesome day, none the less. Hubby gave me a picture frame that you can record a message on and he sent me flowers at work.



Awesome wine and glass



The girls at work got me a bottle of wine and an awesome wine glass (which I am currently divulging in). I also got a birthday shot.

After work hubby had a meeting as wasn't home so my parents took kiddo and I out for dinner.



Taking my bday shot



I have had calls, texts, and Facebook notifications all day long from friends and family all over the world wishing me well (Not that they usually wish me otherwise). That makes me happy to know that all of those people think I am important enough to stop what they are doing and acknowledge me, as I would them on their respective days.

I only hope that other people out their have birthdays as full of love and happiness as mine.

National Novel Writers Month

I have always loved reading and writing. Perhaps because of this I have always felt that one day I too would write a book of my own. I am not claiming that it would be the next great novel or have all the hype that Twilight, 50 Shades of Grey or The Hunger Games series have but I would be ok with that. So this year to force myself to take the plunge and fulfill my dream (hopefully without stopping 10 chapters in as I have previously), I registered for NaNo.

NaNo (aka: NaNoWriMo) is short for National Novel Writers Month. It’s for anyone who wants to write. The goal is to write 50,00 words, which is the average for most novels these days, during the month of November. There are groups all over the world that meet throughout the month to share ideas, encourage, and help each other with their work.

On November 1, they will unlock the novel-excerpt and word-count area of a member’s author profile and members will be available to start using those areas. This allows users to  post word count, view personal stats, and share bits and pieces of your work-in-progress with friends and fans.  Its free to register and you can do so before or after the start of November.

 My thought is that even if I don't succeed bug I try, and I mean really try and not half-ass it then that is good enough for me. No excuses, get to thinking and to typing. I look forward to getting to work and hopefully hearing from some of you people out there that are also going to be writing. Wish me luck.


Below are just a few highlights of the website to whet your appetite. I hope that after reading them that those of you out there that feel inclined to write, just like I do, will go visit the site yourselves and perhaps give it a go.


From the NaNo Website:

Tips to Get You From 0 to 50K
Before you head off to train those typing fingers, we wanted to offer a few bits of advice. You’ll find many great tips in the forums, and we’ll be sending pep talks directly to your NaNoMail (your on-site inbox) during November. But for now, here’s a quick overview of the three-and-a-half things we wish we had known for our first NaNoWriMo:

1) It’s okay to not know what you’re doing. Really. You’ve read a lot of novels, so you’re completely up to the challenge of writing one. If you feel more comfortable outlining your story ahead of time, do it! But it’s also fine to just wing it. Write every day, and a book-worthy story will appear, even if you’re not sure what that story might be right now.

2) Do not edit as you go. Editing is for December and beyond. Think of November as an experiment in pure output. Even if it’s hard at first, leave ugly prose and poorly written passages on the page to be cleaned up later. Your inner editor will be very grumpy about this, but your inner editor is a nitpicky jerk who foolishly believes that it is possible to write a brilliant first draft if you write it slowly enough. It isn’t. Every book you’ve ever loved started out as a beautifully flawed first draft. In November, embrace imperfection and see where it takes you.

3) Tell everyone you know that you’re writing a novel in November. This will pay big dividends in Week Two, when the only thing keeping you from quitting is the fear of looking pathetic in front of all the people who’ve had to hear about your novel for the past month. Seriously. Email them now about your awesome new book. The looming specter of personal humiliation is a very reliable muse.

3.5) There will be times you’ll want to quit during November. This is okay. Everyone who wins NaNoWriMo wanted to quit at some point in November. Stick it out. See it through. Week Two can be hard. Week Three is much better. Week Four will make you want to yodel.

And we’re talking the good kind of yodeling here.

Did You Know…

• They have partnered with libraries and independent bookstores around the world who welcome our participants into their branches and stores every November as part of a community building initiative called Come Write In. Visit the Come Write In pages under NaNo Near You to find the closest novel-loving partner in your neighborhood!
• NaNoWriMo offers a kid-and teen-focused version of the month-long noveling challenge called the Young Writers Program. Over 2,000 classrooms and 50,000 young writers participate annually! Learn more at ywp.nanowrimo.org.

Father of the Year

So today is my husband's birthday thus I find it appropriate to post today's blog as the title and subject are fun, crazy and child related just like my husband's life has become.

I saw these pictures on Yahoo the other day while seeing if there was any news. I think these are hilarious and so I wanted to share a few as well as the link. Since my own husband hates getting his picture taken I can say he will never do anything like this but its funny anyways.

To see more pictures follow the link. http://shine.yahoo.com/photos/world-best-father-photographer-pokes-slideshow/

According to Yahoo:
Dave Engledow tells Shine that the first picture he snapped in his "World's Best Father" series featuring his daughter, Alice Bee, was supposed to be a single shot. "When Alice was about eight weeks old, I wanted to portray what I felt like at the time: a clueless, sleep-deprived dad." He posted the image on Facebook and received such a positive response he decided to create a series of images that parodied the distracted narcissism that characterizes some parents today. "I wanted to appeal to my friends who are parents, but also make something funny for people without kids who are sick of seeing baby photos." He combines multiple images and uses digital retouching to create the humorously perilous scenarios.

He now has more than 50 images, all of which feature a kitschy "Worlds Best Father" mug--something he says he bought "on a whim." A couple of weeks ago, he launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to self-publish a calendar of the best pictures. He says he would love to create as many as possible with his daughter, who is now 21 months old. "I have ideas for shots when she is a teenager, but I've always said I don't want to be one of those fathers who pushes my kid do something she doesn't want to," he pauses. "Except for eating vegetables."

Engledow's wife, Jen, is a lieutenant colonel in the Army. Until three months ago, when she was deployed to Seoul, she helped set up every shot and made sure Alice was safe and happy. Her assignment won't be done until June. Now friends pitch in, and dad and mom work on the images together over the Internet. Engledow acknowledges his life is pretty busy these days (we caught up with him while he was driving to his day job), and he only has time to do photography on the weekends.





Happy birthday, honey!





My Bday Boy



Wedding (cake) makes me cry...

The cake without the topper

So before I started at my current job I was a cake decorator for some local store chains for about three years. I love baking and decorating cakes, cupcakes and such but I needed something that could give me more time with my family and had better financial gain than I was able to make then I was at the time.

In my small community there was no room for me to improve or use my baking and decorating skills elsewhere that would pay me any better. (I am self taught using books, video, observation and lots of practice). If I could go back and do things differently I would consider going to pastry school and perhaps I would not be in the small community that I am from, but that was not the choice I made several years ago and at this time that is not an option.

With the topper...before accident

In any case I still do cake work on the side. I make wedding, birthday and any other types of cakes for friends, family or anyone who wants one.

Picture the groom sent :(

This weekend I had the good fortune to make a wedding cake for a lovely couple. After transporting it to the reception site, setting it up and placing the topper  on the cake I had the chance to talk to the groom. Since he liked the cake and seemed happy I left.

A little while later he texts me a picture. He went to show the cake to his mom and realized there was a problem. Due to its weight and the fact that cake is a bit spongey the cake topper did not want to stay in place and it fell, causing some damage on the way down.

Since it was in town and only a few minutes away I could go back and fix it. I had once been called "Cake Doctor" because I generally able to fix the problems  leaving very little trace that there had been a problem in the first place.  I carried my large toolbox in and assessed the damage.

It was the back of the cake so for the most part it would not be seen by guests or in pictures, that was a relief.  I smoothed out the icing, adding and removing as needed, redid the boarder in the affected spots,  and added a bit more of the red decoration to help cover the patched areas.

Given the time constraints, the tools I had on me and the amount of damage I feel that it was a successful "surgery."

After fixing it.
 I swear its not leaning I just can't take a straight picture.

I am sure that this incident will be a funny little story that the couple tells about their wedding day and I am glad that I was able to work with them. I know that every wedding has some hitch or problem, but if you have someone who is willing to fix the problem a lot of times the guests and even the bridal party might never know that the problem existed in the first place.

So let me just say I love cakes and decorating but after a long day of trying to make something perfect and having an accident (even a small one with an easy fix) occur I sometimes just want to cry.  Luckily this was not one of those days. :)

TV Show Reunions

So Full House just had their 25^th Reunion Party, where they all remembered the good old days when they were the popular kids on TV. During this reunion they sadly did not tape a reunion episode… I know how is that possible? So I got to thinking about other shows that should have a reunion episode and what the episode might entail. These are just my thoughts nobody elses. Here are a few of my favorite ideas (in no special order)…

Full House – Stephanie is pregnant after several years of trying and lots of procedures. Michelle has a  big event that brings everyone together to discuss their lives (wedding or graduation of some sort). Kimmy is married to a rich successful man while. DJ is a stay at home blogger whose hubby is often on the road, leaving her pining for attention. Jesse and Becky have moved out of the attic and into their own place (finally). The twins are average and musically inclined, they want to be stars but don’t have the drive to succeed. Joey is still doing standup around town with no luck, but he has found himself a girlfriend who has similar dreams.  Danny and Vickie are happily married and are getting ready to retire and take an extended vacation around the world in an RV. Danny decides that since the house is going to be empty that he is going to sell it. End with empty house and door shutting.

Seinfeld – 1 year after they are jailed the gang is finally released. Newman is now the head of a large corporation and is still bent on messing with Jerry’s life. The deal that George and Jerry were working on before they were jailed went through with some changes but due to some outstanding circumstances they were given no credit and have made no profit. Kramer is upset to leave jail as he has become very popular with the other inmates due to his odd demeanor. Elaine  has had to revamp herself to fit in while in jail and has a hard time transitioning back, she hopes that seeing Putty will help her find her way but she finds out that he is married with a kid on the way.  

SOAP - I watched this whole series on Netflix and loved it, but since it got canceled there was no real ending, thus I will make one. 

Jessica somehow escaped her execution and married a prominent gangster in the community.

Chester unfortunately has died. He had a heart attack while messing around with a girl young enough to be his grandchild. Burt has developed Alzheimer’s in his old age and often remembers the good old days like they are the present. Mary was upset when her alien baby was abducted by his true father but quickly got over it when she realized that things would not be floating around the house anymore. She helps her sons with their families and is content to be grandma. Danny has never really gotten Elaine but through support from a single spouse group has found happiness with another woman and has a family of his own. Jodie still holds that he is gay even though he has been with as many women as men. He managed to get custody of his daughter and raise her with his friends and family. She is lovely, successful and married with 2 kids. Eunice managed to evade the police with her hubby, Dutch for a while but eventually they were both arrested and sent to jail. Perhaps the family is all getting together to celebrate their release. Billy doesn’t have much to do with his family since he tired of their crazy antics, but his wife and kids urges him to give them one last chance and he agrees. Corrine never got over her priestly husband even though he has managed to stay away from her since he left her last. Her child has grown up and is possibly the antichrist. Only Corrine and Father Tim can save their son. The Major has long since passed, doing what he loved to do. Blowing stuff up. Benson and Saunders have long since retired their positions and have moved somewhere tropical leaving younger people to man their former posts.

Friends -I realize that it’s only been 8 years since this show went off the air so perhaps we should wait for 10 years and then do a reunion. I know many diehards who would watch it and hope that they would start taping new episodes.

Joey’s acting career did not start out well (as we saw with Joey). Eventually though he lands a series as a regular and is able to move back to NY where they do the taping. He is reunited with his friends and they make new memories together. Phoebe and her hubby Mike now own the Central Perk where Phoebe and her young kids perform nearly every day where Smelly Cat and the children’s version Stinky Kitty are very popular. Monica and Chandler are busy raising their kids, attending PTA and different athletic/school functions. Chandler is a stay at home dad and does some work from his home office. Monica is busy running her own business that is currently booming. Rachel and Ross got married in a small private ceremony after the finale. They are raising Emma and their young son. Ross still teaches at the University and Rachel is still working her way up the fashion ladder hoping to land her dream job.

 

I know that these are all pretty obvious plots but that’s what people what and expect from their reunion shows.

I'm a nag

Warning this is a rant, if you don't want to listen to me bitch you should backpedal now and save yourself the time.

So my daughter is getting ready to turn 3 in a few months and has still never really had a photographer take her photo, except for family events. Around 2 months ago a local woman who is just starting her photography business was looking on facebook for subject so that she could build her portfolio, and the disc with all the images would be free. I looked at the photos she had up so far, since they were similar to what I liked I messaged her and we made an appointment for Sunday August 23rd.

The day came and we meet at the park. My daughter was shy and slightly uncooperative but she didn't cry or get mad and the photographer said that she had gotten some good pictures. She said that she would edit them that night and that she would have a few samples on her site that evening and have the cd to me within a week, so that I could choose a picture and she would give me a free 8*10 of the photo I chose.

I think this is great as I walk away, hubby's bday is at the beginning of October and I wanted to surprise him with the pictures (he hates getting his photo done and think everyone else feels the same).

Anxious to see the results I logged on her site that night and several nights following to see a preview of my pictures, to no avail.  After two weeks I still had not seen any pictures or gotten any messages from her. I sent a private message and got no response, after a few days I sent one so that all her fans could see it. Just asking if she was still working on the pictures and wondering when I should expect to see them. After a few days she responded and said that she would send them out by Sept 13th. 

Now I know that sometimes the post office and such places can sometimes seem to take forever especially when you are waiting for something. But today is Sept 24th and I still have not gotten these pictures. She only lives 30 minutes away and mail does not take 11+ days to go that distance. So a few days ago I messaged her again just to make sure she sent my pictures to the address I had given her and not to someone else.  

I also noticed that at least one other person is anxiously awaiting the photos of their kid, according to the posts on her website.

Since these pictures are free I feel like I shouldn't really complain, but at the same time I have been waiting on them for a month and hubby's bday is only a week away.  If she would just get back to me and tell me, "sorry I have been having issues with __fill in the blank__. I am sorry but your photos will be late, but expect them __on date__." Then I would be cool about it.... well maybe not cool but cooler.

Guess this goes to show me that if I can do it myself that I should, you get what you pay for sometimes and it would just be quicker and easier for me in the long run.

I will post an update when...if I ever get these photos. Until then enjoy these pictures that I took myself.

Bridesmaids Dresses

 I am the oldest of three girls, my parents were awesome enough to have a lot of beauty but not much brawn. Anyways to the point. My younger sister (the middle one, the youngest in still in college for a bit) is getting married this coming Spring (Yippie!) and I am a member of the bridal party... not just any member but the Matron of Honor (Matron does not mean OLD!), aka Bride's Bitch. My youngest sister is the Maid of Honor, to bad she will still be underage for the bachelorette party and wedding. Ha ha ha, sucks you be you sister!

 Last weekend several of us Bridemaids were able to pretend that we were fashion models and try on an array of dresses in several shades, fabric and styles, since my sister had no clue what she wanted. She didn't event have a color picked out, but hey she had her dress and the groom so nothing else matters right? 

I took a dress for Eva to wear too.



 

My youngest sister and I acting silly.



Anyways here are a few of the crazy fun pictures that we took.  I suppose that I watch too much America's Next Top Model because I have some crazy poses. Too bad that I was trying so hard not to laugh that my face looks dumb in nearly every picture.



After trying on about a dozen dresses that have been worn by countless others and then debating how pale I look in every color imaginable, the Bridezilla, I mean my sister, was able to pick a dress and a color!  Just when I thought it was all over the discussion of shoes began. My head already pounding I just wanted to be finished. (Not that I don't love my sister and most of the bridesmaids but we had an hour to drive and I felt yuck.) We shopped in the bridal store and then a shoe store until we found the perfect shoe to go with the bridesmaids dresses....and my sister found a shoe to go with her dress too. Wah ha ha (evil laugh) nearly everything is decided so I don't have to worry about much anymore... until she starts thinking of hair, jewelry, and the bachelorette party.

 

And the winning dress is..........................

The present bridesmaids in the winning dress. We will be wearing the blue.

PS- I don't really think that my sister is a bridezilla but for some reason she thinks that she is and likes to be refered to that way.  ??? I dunno either, she is nuts.

PPS - Sorry if I sounded mean because baby sister will be underage the whole time. But she really does suck... in a loveable way though.  Get your dirty minds out of the gutter people.  :) 

Family Photo Session



Sisters



I love taking pictures and having my daughter's photo taken (mostly by me as photographers are crazy expensive and rightly so).  In most cases when a family is having their picture taken they are all sitting together smiling and thinking what a wonderful Christmas card the photo will make or where the picture will fit on the wall.  However, if you are having photographer/Artist, Ulric Collette photograph you and your family the pictures yo will get will be unlike most of the others hanging in your house.

Collette takes a picture of two closely related people (siblings, parents/children) and merges them in the middle. This shows the differences and similarities of the two family members, some more outstanding than others. The portraits in my opionion look the best when both the subjects are adult as the size of their faces line up better and look more "natural".  As I am always hearing how much I look like my sisters and parents I would LOVE to be a subject for this guy. Perhaps then I will finally start to see what others already tell me... or perhaps I will disagree even more because the differences will be more apparent.

So Sisters! If you are reading this... Find this guy and get him to do our next family photo session. I hear he is from Canada.



Daughter/ Mother

Information on Collette taken from Shine:

Collette's "Genetic Portrait" series, began in 2008. "I was trying other things with a picture of me and a picture of my son and this happened." Instead of aging his son using his own features as he intended, the result was a fascinating mash-up of two faces that share much of the same DNA. He posted the image on the photo sharing website Flickr, and it went viral. "I started using pictures of other family members and the project took off from there."



His latest series of images will be on display from October 2 to October 28 at the Centaur Theater's Seagram Art Gallery in Montreal.

For the orginal story and to see more photos on Shine click here. 



Cheating gets you nowhere

So while patroling the internet earlier I found the following story on a cheating ring at Harvard that is currently under investigation.  Click here for full story.

So I read the story and here are the facts:
A Harvard professor gave his/her students a take home exam. Upon grading these exam the professor found similarities in the words used. Based on this information the professor "assumes" that students, worked together to complete their exam with the possibility that they also used their textbooks and internet as a source for their knowledge.

The comments below the article mostly consist of two types of comments.

1) people hating on the Ivy League as this proves that all Ivy Leaguers are cheats and thus no better than everyone else as they are wont to think. - really? everyone is a cheat because of this?

2) those who are hating on our countries politicians, saying that now they know where those in government learned to lie and cheat. - perhaps a bit of a stretch.


OK now here are my thoughts on this:

1) to the people leaving comments-  back off, you probably did the same thing at least once when you were in school. They made a mistake but we can't blame our governments entire political system on this one incident that has no "actual" ties to our politicians. It’s all speculation.

2) to the students that got caught- really? If you are smart enough to get into an Ivy League school shouldn't you have realized that writing pretty much the exact same thing or something so similar could get you caught? Think next time.

3) to the professor- duh! If you administer a test where the students are not monitored they will find a way to get the answers. There are so many ways to do this: in a study group, textbook or online. If you want to make sure they don't use these things then you have to monitor them. Get off your lazy butt, this is your job.

What do you think?

Most Excellent

I just heard some stellar news! "Strange things are afoot at the Circle K," ... and they are coming out with a third installment of the Bill and Ted movies.  This information is based on a story from MTV Blog.

For those of you who have never watched Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure or Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey I urge you to go out and rent them, I am sure it will only cost $1 for both.  Some cities even have them showing in the theater according to IMDB. There was even a short lived animated show voiced by the same actors, called Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures, which was made between the first and second movies (some of these episodes are available to view on IMDB).

While not thought provoking, I love these movies because they are funny and mindless 80's movies, but also include jokes that you would appreciate if you know your history. Sometimes a good laugh is all you really want and need.

According to what I have read, the third movie will continue the story of Bill (Alex Winter) and Ted (Keanu Reeves).Their band is supposed to hit it big and write a song that will save the world according to the first two movies. Apparently they have not done this since the end of the 2nd movie, which was released in 1991 and are desperate to live up to their destiny. Apparently in following suit with the first two films their will be some element of time travel or perhaps another journey with the Grim Reaper, in order to fulfill this quest.

The obvious glitch to the third installment will be the absence of Rufus (the late George Carlin), unless of course the character is re-cast, in that case the actor has some large shoes to fill.

Until they release some more information regarding the project one can only speculate as to what is in store for us. So while waiting for that remember "Be excellent to each other!"

Fairy in the Garden

Sorry for lack of posting, things have been a bit crazy here.

I just wanted to post something quick that makes me smile. So here are a few pictures I took of my daughter over the weekend.