Recently in Mentionables Category

First, I want to say WOW. I watched all of season 1 and caught up with 2 in three days. THREE DAYS. That is just how good the series is and YES there are huge gaping differences with the tv show and the books. So if you’re watching the show and not reading the novels, don’t worry about it. If you don’t want to read them, you don’t have to and you won’t be concerned about all the differences.

If you’ve read the novels then you’re going to be like “HOLY CRAP!” when you watch the show. Even though they have made some HUGE changes the show it still worth watching. You can just be like me and wonder how the hell are they going to pull off Stan being Sherriff of Texas if he’s dead? Lafayette is alive and working for Eric, unwillingly, of course.

I do have compliments for a lot of the effects though. Shifting is semi-believable. It’s not “my bones are breaking and reforming and there’s all kinds of clear goop you’re going t have to clean up off the bathroom floor”. It looks magical, first you see human, then you see dog, then you see human and of course they are naked. It’s absolutely hilarious when Sookie finds out about Sam and how - which is pretty close in the book, but not quite. The book version was better.

It’s also quite nice to see what’s going on with other people living in Bon Temps. I’d never think of Jason doing V or kidnapping a vampire. They changed the way Rene died and I wasn’t thrilled about that. Sookie saved her own life in the book and I think it would have been nice if they had followed that scene in the show. It wasn’t in the middle of the day and I think Bill was out of town. Oh, and Rene didn’t die, he’d started confessing like crazy in the hospital. I don’t recall if he made it or not.

The entire story regarding Long Shadow was done differently, except for the embezzlement, but there was a lot more going on afterwards that connected to his death and his maker in the book. There wasn’t any tribunal that Bill and Eric had to go to and he sure as hell didn’t have to make a new vampire. Although I do like the twist it adds and of course, the drama, for the show.

There are enough differences between the series and the show to make it interesting enough to want to follow both. I’ve read all 9 books now and I’m going to finish watching season 2. HBO has said it’s going to have a season 3. I think that’s a pretty good thing. I just wish I knew the thinking behind the screenwriters reasons as to why they changed parts of the main story itself (Lafayette dies, Stan Lives in the books) because I think it was fine the way it was.

If you’re interested in the show and haven’t read the books, you might want to do so. Check your library, they may have them, or download it to your Kindle if you have one. They are worth reading and comparing to the show. Enjoy.

While at the Sonoma County Fair we got to visit, pet and learn about all kinds of animals from birds to horses and cows to reptiles. Well, most of the reptiles were in cages or weren’t to be petted, but we did get to see them and just how cool they are. The birds we mainly saw were happy and content in a barn waiting to be seen and shown and go home. But the birds I’m going to show you today are those that have been rescued and will either be released back into the wild or dependent on human care for the rest of their life.

First I’d like to introduce Poppy. She’s a red-tailed hawk and they were kind enough to turn her around to show off her fancy red tail. I didn’t get a photo of that though but here she is in all her glory. Poppy won’t ever be released back into the wild because she’d be a danger to herself and humans because she doesn’t have the ability to hunt. I don’t recall them telling us why she was unable to hunt but she is and will be fed by people and kept safe for the rest of her life.

Here we have a great horned owl who is unnamed. The lady showing him explained that they are told not to give the birds names because that would make them more inclined to be nice to humans. This owl bites and claws and will be released back into the wild when he’s ready. I don’t recall why he was at the rescue center but obviously he’s there because he needed some form of care. Did you know that with our facial bone structure owl eyes would be enormous on our faces? Their eyes are huge compared to ours.

This is Odie and isn’t she pretty? She only has one eye though and will not be released back into the wild. I’ve never seen an owl with one eye. This one was so adorable I just couldn’t stop looking at her. She was even kind enough to turn her head so I could get a really great photo of her looking at me funny, sort of like “Did you get it yet?”.

This Bird Rescue Center is located in Santa Rosa, CA and they do except charitable donations which are tax deductble and they have volunteer options as well. I know my Honey’s family has had them rescue some birds in the past and they seem to take really great care of them to get them back out into the wild.

So the Little Lady and I went with Honey’s mom to check out the home, barracks, mission and so forth in Sonoma of General Vallejo. Of course I was stupid and for whatever reason, I who always carries her camera to new places, did not take it. Hopefully there will be a reason to go back and I can do so then.

Anyway, if you want to teach your kids some history about hard work and strife, this is the place to go check out. They have guided tours, but we didn’t go on one of those, and you might enjoy it more if you do so. It’s basic California history that we were learning and the reason we started doing this was for the Little Lady (not so much for me, but I learn new things, too) since she wasn’t here to have California history in 4th grade.

That was something new I learned as well. Every school in the state has a specific type of history you learn each year. 4th grade is California history, like I mentioned and when the Little Lady started school here in 7th grade they did Middle Eastern history. In 6th grade it would have been Egyptian. They don’t do anything like that in the schools in Ohio. You move from one district to another and you are most likely ahead or behind, depending on how well the students learn. Also in Ohio they do Ohio history, but it’s not all that indepth and certainly not for a whole year. You move from local history to national history to world history and then they go into governmental studies and that’s about it.

So we had a great time learning about General Vallejo and his family, looking at the barracks he and his men stayed in, looking at their Victorian styled home, and the mission was great. We also learned about the Bear Flag Revolt, which didn’t even last a full month before the good ole’ USA took their flag down and replaced it with the Stars and Stripes. That’s right, less than a month. They only have a copy of the flag in the barraks because the original was destroyed in the fires following the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco.

Overall it was great to learn about the history of the state and how it became part of the US. There are some amazing paintings in the mission of other missions by Chris Jorgensen, yes he was Norwegian, in watercolors. He had an amazing eye and incredible talent the years he painted the other missions. So if you’re ever in Sonoma and want to get a touch of history, these would be the places to go. Hopefully next time I’ll have photos! Laters.

So this is the new wallpaper I made with the idea of being creative and helping people be creative. If you don’t know what a burning bunny is, go here to read about it. Basically that link goes to Kim Harrison’s website to explain how her idea system works. I confiscated her burning bunny image to make this wallpaper, copyright is all hers, got it? I will eventually own one of those adorable burning bunny pins. I will! They look adorable. For now he will just have to decorate my desktop. Enjoy.

No bunnies were harmed in the making of this wallpaper.

So the title of this post translates to: Favorite Authors + Personal Blog = Woot! I mean, hey I can’t get enough of their writing as it is regarding novels so why not read their personal blog, too? They don’t get to always update as often as I’m sure they wish to, but hey, this is a look into what they are doing outside the novel. You can find several of my favorite authors all over the net so if you want to know more about them before or while reading their sagas, here you go:

Laurell K. Hamilton

• Myspace: Laurell’s Myspace page. She also has one for Anita Blake, which is pretty darn cool if you ask me.
• Professional Site: LKH’s Professional page. This site contains information regarding her books, events, photos and more.

MaryJanice Davidson

• MJ’s Musings: MJ’s Musings is her personal blog over at blogspot. She hasn’t written in a month but when she writes it’s worth reading.
• Myspace: MaryJanice’s Myspace page. She also has a page to a character from another series she’s writing with her husband.
• Professional Site: MaryJanice’s professional site listing books, info and more!

Richelle Mead

• Personal Blog over at LiveJournal. She holds contests on occasion and deletes spoilers!
• Myspace: She’s got a myspace page, still waiting for the friend request to go through, but I’m patient.
• Professional Site: Professional site has all of her book info, events, etc.

Kim Harrison

• Professional Site: She’s got all kinds of fun stuff on her professional site! Hey I want a button that says “Don’t touch the baby!”, don’t you?
• Facebook: Facebook for Kim Harrison includes a wall of discussions that she gets involved in. Got a question for her? Go to the Ask Kim discussion board and bam, you’ll get an answer anywhere from the same day to a week later. Be patient, she’s writing her next book!
• Myspace: She also has a myspace page, but she’s much more active on the facebook page. But hey, friend her anyway, it rocks.

I hope you take time to look at some of these authors. I absolutely love the fact that you can contact them on their sites and get a reply. I want some burning bunnies from Kim’s house to come hang out for some fresh carrots. Go visit her professional site for more information on Burning Bunnies. I promise, no real bunnies were harmed.

And hey, if they ever want a website makeover or a movabletype blog layout they can come see me. Later.

There are many reasons why I hate celebs on a regular basis. Unfortunately it rarely leads me to boycotting their shows, movies, etc. Nowadays I rarely know who is who and I prefer it that way because of the simple fact that they don’t dictate how I live, eat, sleep or what I wear, say or do. Which is what their main job is.

Check this out: The Completely True Brad Paisley Story and Other Things I’ve Meant To Post - A story about how celebs treat regular every day people like you and me.

For whatever reason regular every day people seem to except the fact that celebs can act like high and mighty assholes on a regular and every day basis and still be accepted as great and wonderful beings of humanity. Give me a break.