Comments and critiques are welcome. Just don't be a troll, no one likes a troll.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Ode to 2012

Well the Mayans were wrong.

We’re still here.

This year has been an extremely difficult year for the Ford household.

Evelyn had a couple of hospital stays and emergency abdominal surgery and I had emergency eye surgery for a detached retina.

Oh, and the surgeries were about 2 weeks apart.

The whole house had the flu during the Christmas season.

The doctor/surgery bills sucked up all the money we had set back for the holidays and to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.

But you know what?

We’re still here.

We’re still standing.

We’re still together.

And as for the year 2012, there’s a Cee Lo Green song out there you need to listen to.

It starts with an “F” and ends with “You”.

I’m moving on to 2013.  

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

While writing this I was listening to " Something" from "Bones [Original TV Soundtrack]" by "Cary Brothers"

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Books I “Read” In 2012

I’m not sure if I should use “read” since a lot of these were audiobooks that I listened to.
I started to use the word “enjoyed” but  then I would need to delete some off the list.
So the all-purpose term “read” is going to have to do.

  • 420 Characters by Lou Beach
  • A Christmas Story: The Book That Inspired the Hilarious Classic Film by Jean Shepherd (Audio)
  • A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (Audio)
  • A Dish Taken Cold by Anne Perry
  • A Fatal Twist of Lemon (Wisteria Tearoom Mysteries) by Patrice Greenwood
  • An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Other Stories by Ambrose Bierce (Audio)
  • Catching Fire (The Hunger Games, Book 2) by Suzanne Collins (Audio)
  • Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral
  • Crusade by Greg Crites (Audio)
  • DEAD(ish) by Naomi Kramer
  • Death Warmed Over (Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.) by Kevin J. Anderson
  • Double Indemnity by James M. Cain
  • Fool: A Novel by Christopher Moore (Audio)
  • In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks: And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy by Adam Carolla (Audio)
  • In Search of #6 by Damon Timm (Audio)
  • Killing Floor: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child
  • Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Audio)
  • Life's Little Annoyances: True Tales of People Who Just Can't Take It Anymore by Ian Urbina (Audio)
  • Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, Book 3) by Suzanne Collins (Audio)
  • Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (Audio)
  • Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore (Audio
  • Reader's Advisory: Unshelved 7 (An Unshelved Collection) by Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes
  • Signspotting 4: The Art of Miscommunication by Doug Lansky
  • Smut: Stories by Alan Bennett
  • Starting from Happy: A Novel by Patricia Marx
  • Thank You Notes 2 by Jimmy Fallon
  • Thank You Notes by Jimmy Fallon and the Writers of Late Night
  • The Adjustment Bureau by Philip K. Dick and Phil Gigante (Audio)
  • The Age of Miracles: A Novel by Karen Thompson Walker
  • The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of St. Francis by Richard Rohr (Audio)
  • The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing by John Perry
  • The Bro Code by Barney Stinson (Audio)
  • The Call of the Wild by Jack London (Audio)
  • The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm
  • The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis
  • The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz (Audio
  • The Dead and the Gone (The Last Survivors, Book 2) by Susan Beth Pfeffer (Audio)
  • The Enemy: A Reacher Novel by Lee Child (Audio)
  • The Galton Case: A Lew Archer Mystery by Ross Macdonald (Audio)
  • The Instant Physicist: An Illustrated Guide by Richard A. Muller and Joey Manfre
  • The Lost Years by Mary Higgins Clark (Audio)
  • The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life by Marion Roach Smith
  • The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
  • There, I Fixed It: (No, You Didn't) by Cheezburger Network
  • Too Much Coffee Man: Cutie Island by Shannon Wheeler
  • What Do You Want to Do Before You Die? by The Buried Life, Ben Nemtin, Dave Lingwood and Duncan Penn
  • Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
  • Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt by Patton Oswalt (Audio)

48 books in all. I think that’s a record for me.


Blogger Labels: Books

Death Warmed Over (Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.) by Kevin J. Anderson

 

51lYTSnQDCL__SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_

 

“Sitting stiffly at my desk – these days I’m usually stiff, no matter what I do; the aftereffects of rigor mortis are a bitch – I ponder the loose threads of investigations under way, figuring out how the evidence tied together.”

-Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The Instant Physicist: An Illustrated Guide by Richard A. Muller and Joey Manfre

 

51TEDLf7lPL__SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_   A quick and very informative read.

No need to be a scientist to enjoy this book, it is written in simple terms and explains a lot of physics in just 139 pages.

Everything from the radioactivity to the greenhouse effect. It’s a great book for trivia buffs or you could just use it to impress your friends.

I would have to say it was:

 

 

Random sentence

The Statue of Liberty is not as tall as many people think – 151 feet from the base to the tip of the torch.

 

 

While writing this I was listening to " Saturn Return" from "Reveal" by "R.E.M."

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Conference of the Birds by Peter Sis

 

51-VWF vZUL__AA160_

I have to admit that understanding the hidden meanings in poetry is a weak point of mine.

I sort of got the gist of this one. It is a story of man’s search for meaning told through the eye’s of birds in search of their god.

Make sure you read the hard back version because the illustrations are just beautiful.

 

Random sentence

The endless deserts are crystals of sand.

 

 

While writing this I was listening to " Backdoor Medley: Backdoor Love Affair/Mellow Down Easy/Backdoor Love" from "Six Pack [Disc 2]" by "ZZ Top"

Sunday, December 9, 2012

The Art of Procrastination: A Guide to Effective Dawdling, Lollygagging and Postponing by John Perry

 

41ExusBglhL__AA160_  It was like looking in a mirror.

If you are, live with, or work with a procrastinator, this is the book for you.

It discusses a condition known as “structured procrastination.”

I swear the guy followed me around and took notes.

 

Random Sentence

Other stuff – some opened, some unopened – piled up toward the back of the desk to be dealt with “later.”

 

 

While writing this I was listening to " My Private Nation" from "My Private Nation" by "Train"

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Smut: Stories by Alan Bennett

41TqZ7A2jSL__SL160_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-dp,TopRight,12,-18_SH30_OU01_AA160_

 

This book is comprised of two ok stories about sexual exploits.

It was not really my cup of tea (British pun intended) and leaned a little too far to the erotic side.

But it was really satisfying to be able to answer the question, “What are you reading?”

“Smut”

 

Random Sentence

It had been a holiday from respectability and not to be repeated, a one-off, the chance of her coming across any other lodgers as open-minded (and penurious) as Andy and Laura very slim.

 

 

While writing this I was listening to " Open Wide" from "Backwater - single" by "Meat Puppets"