Exploring Aravis tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008-05-27://1 2008-08-19T15:53:48Z Movable Type Open Source 4.1 Extreme Blog Post tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.78 2008-08-19T15:45:32Z 2008-08-19T15:53:48Z Aravis
I managed to make it through 4 hours at work yesterday before needing to come home.  This makes sense considering I've been  stuck on the couch for 2 weeks.  I wasn't sick, just exhausted.  And yes, I know how lucky I am to have a job which allows me to leave whenever I want.  Especially one that surrounds me with books!

Speaking of which, I've discovered that we carry a book on "Extreme Pumpkin Carving."

sigh

Why must everything be "extreme" these days?  It's ridiculous!  What's next, extreme toenail clipping?  Extreme nose picking?

Honestly.
]]> Out for Blood tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.77 2008-08-18T03:01:14Z 2008-08-18T05:15:10Z Aravis
Having just completed the Twilight saga, I've moved on to The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer, by Philip Carlo.  It's the true story of Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski, one of the most notorious killers-for-hire in history.  His name came up toward the end of my Abnormal Psych class last semester, and I was intrigued.  My professor shuddered as she described seeing a taped interview with the man, how dead and remorseless his eyes were as he recited some of the horrific methods he used to torture and kill his victims.  For decades, nobody suspected this husband and father of three, a man who loved entertaining his neighbors and showering presents on his family.  Having an interest in the criminal mind myself, I decided to read more about him.

At the risk of having a contract taken out on me, I have to say I'm disappointed.  Kuklinski is a fascinating case, and the author has the potential to tell a gripping story.  Unfortunately, though Carlo has talent (this book was a NY Times bestseller, and he has written several other biographies), I had some real problems with this book.   Carlo was in desperate need of two things: a thesaurus, and an editor who actually knows how to edit.  The words "stone cold killer" were used to describe just about every killer in the book, repeatedly, thereby losing its effectiveness as a description for the Ice Man.  Or any of the other killers, for that matter. 

That wasn't the only repetitive part of the book.  Phrases and even sections of the book are used again and again, sometimes verbatim.  Annoying!  The book should, by rights, be half as long as it is.  A little editing and proper organization would have made this an excellent biography.  As is, I found myself becoming aggravated, my focus on the story constantly broken by yet another "this was to prove to be a fatal mistake" or "he was dead before he knew it" or "the police had no idea..."

My beef is with the editor more than the author.  It is the editor's job to clean this sort of thing up, and he didn't do it.

On the plus side, this has hammered home to me just how crucial a good editor is!

Final analysis?  Richard Kuklinski's story is fascinating and ugly.  If you're really interested, then get this book from the library, but don't buy it.  Otherwise, give it a pass.
]]> Unappetizing tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.76 2008-08-16T02:05:04Z 2008-08-16T05:06:26Z Aravis
Randy and I bought my school books the other day.  I handed the girl my course listing, and she started pulling the texts.  I decided to go ahead and buy the recommended materials (in addition to the required ones) for Human Biology; I'll need all the help I can get.  I didn't pay any attention to the materials, just paid for them and came home. 

Once in the house, I threw the bag onto the sofa and grabbed a snack.  While I nibbled, I pulled the bag over and started to look through my purchases.  Among the optional materials, there was a CD-Rom.  Curious, I examined it more closely, taking another bite as I did so.  I regretted doing it almost instantly. 

The cd is a virtual dissection of a corpse for me to do in my free time.

Yum.

Did I mention how much I'm looking forward to this class?

Thought so.
]]> Poking My Head Out tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.75 2008-08-13T07:33:20Z 2008-08-13T08:07:54Z Aravis
To be fair, I was totally absorbed by the Twilight Saga.  I read all 4 books (Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn), twice.  I became totally immersed, and am already missing the characters I grew to love.  This series isn't for everyone, of course, and I wouldn't insist that you all read it.  It's become a permanent part of my collection, though, and I would recommend it to those of you who are at all intrigued.

Other than reading and watching the Olympics, I haven't done much.  I tried to go to work on Monday, and I made it through 2 hours.  My boss took one look at me when I walked in and tried to send me home, but I wanted to give it a shot.  By the end of the 2nd hour, though, my legs burned as though I'd just run miles.  She told me to just stay home until I'm well, so that's the plan.  I need money though, so it's a short-term plan.

If I'm strong enough, Randy is going to drive me to school tomorrow to get my books while there are still some used copies to be had.  I went online to the school's bookstore; if I only buy used, and only buy the required books and not the recommended ones as well, I'm looking at $500 minimum.  And on a side note, why not just call Human Biology "Anatomy and Physiology" if every textbook and supplementary material is called "Anatomy and Physiology?"  Only the lab book has the words "Human Biology" in it.  Time to buy Anatomy and Physiology Demystified and Anatomy and Physiology for Dummies, I think.  I believe that's about my level right now.  I'm so not ready for this coming semester.

I think it would be cheaper and easier to drop out of school to give birth to a herd of elephants, than to finish my education.

No wonder I don't feel well.
]]> Still Alive tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.74 2008-08-07T15:32:43Z 2008-08-07T15:41:43Z Aravis
Just thought I'd let you know that I'm still breathing at least.
]]> I'm a Bit of a Mess tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.73 2008-08-04T21:07:58Z 2008-08-04T21:24:18Z Aravis
Almost all of the symptoms can be explained away individually: my job is physical, so of course I'm going to be achy and tired, or have memory lapses (from the numbness of exhaustion).  I keep getting a shooting pain in one of my knees, but as my knees come into play a lot at work with lifting, climbing and kneeling, that's to be expected.  My neck is stiff and sore, but I have back problems.  I have allergies that sometimes mimic a cold, so naturally I'll get a sore throat and the chills.  I've had difficulty swallowing the pills I have to take for bipolar and my thyroid condition lately, almost choking on them, but that could be psychosomatic, a reaction to almost choking on them the first time it happened.  I keep getting this stomach/gi thing every few days, too, leaving me feeling squiffy.

But if I step back and lump some of these symptoms together, it could be that I have a recurrence of Lyme Disease.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon to get tested.  We'll see.  In the meantime, I'm going to go take a nap.  I don't feel so hot.
]]> Scary Reading tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.71 2008-08-01T00:53:34Z 2008-08-01T01:55:08Z I haven't had much to share from the bookstore lately, but I do now.For example, does it disturb anyone else that there's a Complete Idiot's Guide to Teaching College?But that's nothing compared to an order I filled today:Dynamite FiendSteal this... Aravis
For example, does it disturb anyone else that there's a Complete Idiot's Guide to Teaching College?

But that's nothing compared to an order I filled today:

Dynamite Fiend
Steal this Vote
The Assassination Business

I find this person troubling.  Either they have really grim tastes in reading, or somebody needs to watch their back.



]]> Vampires tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.70 2008-07-31T01:17:36Z 2008-08-04T21:27:19Z Aravis Twilight for the first time at the recommendation of my friend, Sheila.  I'm willing to bet that if you're into this type of book, then you've probably already read it and are thinking something along the lines of "Duh!  Where have you been?"  I don't know.  But I've caught up with you now.

I love this book.

I truly couldn't put it down.  I even skipped work yesterday (since I don't have to go in every day) to finish it.  And the moment I finished it, I ordered the second one, New Moon.  Then I started pacing, because I wanted to keep reading immediately.  In fact, I came very close to re-reading Twilight right then and there to, you know, pick up on nuances I might have missed the first time.  So far, though, I've managed to restrain myself.

I've found myself wondering just what it is about vampires that we find so seductive?  I suspect that, like horses, love of vampires is more of a girl thing.  Or am I wrong?  But why are vampires such erotic beings?  What is it about them that some make you want to walk forward and offer your throat to their fatal kiss?  That's giving yourself in the truest sense; there's no going back.  Would you walk up to a mountain lion, bare your neck and say "Take me now!"

Probably not.

They're both predators, and it's tantamount to the same thing.  Of course, vampires appear human, and that makes a huge difference.  Unless you've got a thing for mountain lions, in which case I guess it's a toss up.

I don't know why vampires are such seductive creatures, but when I read something like Twilight, I know that I am not immune to their power to charm.
]]> Big News Day tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.69 2008-07-30T02:19:13Z 2008-07-30T04:40:46Z Aravis
Big Story

filled the screen as the program began.  Given that it was local news, I didn't expect a global crisis.  A fire?  A bank robbery?  An accident?  These might warrant the title Big Story, so I stopped what I was doing for a moment to find out what was going on.

You know what the Big Story was?

A police officer was arraigned on charges that he stole a garden hose from the department. 

It wasn't even a Big department; it was a small town.

Maybe tomorrow's leading story will be...

Epidemic Feared After Mayor Blows Nose!
]]> Man vs. Nature, Nature Wins tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.68 2008-07-28T22:28:54Z 2008-07-28T23:28:42Z Aravis
We weren't too worried about it.  We figured that the power would return after a couple of hours.  I decided to take advantage of the situation by taking a nap.  I don't know why, but I couldn't keep my eyes open.  So back to bed I went, despite the pounding rain, crash of lightning connecting with the ground, and the ominous thunder overhead.  While I'm sure there were people huddled in fear in their homes, I was out like a light.  Which, given the fact that the lights were out anyway, seems appropriate in retrospect.

When I got up around 6 PM, the power was still out.  I read until it got dark, and Randy ran errands.  Only our stretch of road had been affected, so he was able to run into town to pick up some dinner and supplies.  We have a couple of old-fashioned oil lamps, and used those for the most part.  We dug out the cards and played Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Cribbage.  I haven't played cribbage since I was 6 or 7, and I couldn't remember it at all, but Randy patiently taught me and we had a good time.  With the power out, we were forced to interact beyond television comments and dinner conversation.  As it turns out, we still like each other even when we have to pay attention to one another, so that's good.

Randy finally went to bed and I went back to reading by oil lamp and flashlight.  I was finishing up In the Woods by Tana French.  It was a pretty good book for the first 2/3 of it, a real page turner.  It used a lot of foreshadowing, a literary device I don't care for, but I was willing to overlook it.  Then, during that last 1/3 of the book, it went south.  There were 2 mysteries, intertwined and possibly related.  The story is told in 1st person, and when the killer is caught, the narrator informs the reader (me) that I didn't see it coming, that he had given me all the information I needed, and it's my own fault that I couldn't figure out whodunnit.

Guess what pal?  I had it figured out the moment that character was introduced, which is more than I can say for you!

Now I'm arguing with a fictional character.  Great. 

The 2nd mystery was the one I was interested in to the end, and it's the one the author chose to leave unsolved.  I suspect she didn't really know how to wrap it up, so she didn't.

All in all the book was alright; I'm not sorry I read it even though the narrator turned into a jerk in the end.  But it was an Edgar award winner which received rave reviews as a psychological thriller that will baffle the reader until the end.

Which is baffling, because I wasn't baffled.

As I was saying, I'm not sorry I read it.  A lot of it was quite good.  I'm not sure whether I'll read the sequel, The Likeness, however.  It follows up with the more likable characters from the first, so I may give it a try.  If I don't like it, though, I'm done with this author no matter how many raves she gets.

Anyway, I finished the book and went to bed.  The power came on a little after 9 AM, but cable (and therefore my internet connection) wasn't restored until a few minutes ago.  I can do without tv, and I can even do without being online these days, as long as it's my choice.  The fact that I was being denied against my will, though, chafed. 

Now that it's my choice again, I can go back to reading.  *G* 


]]> For Your Amusement tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.67 2008-07-26T22:37:53Z 2008-07-28T23:26:07Z Aravis Animator vs. Animation.  It's just what it sounds like: a battle between the creator and creation.  Anyone who has used PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro will especially get a kick out of this.

Enjoy!
]]> Mysterious Musings tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.66 2008-07-26T03:08:40Z 2008-07-28T23:30:36Z Aravis
I like mysteries.  I like the challenge of trying to figure out whodunit.  This holds true for real life as well as fiction.  Who hasn't tried to figure out the true identity of Jack the Ripper?  Or wondered what happened to Amelia Earhart?  Has anyone figured out yet how the car keys wind up in the 'fridge instead of your purse?

What mystery would you really like to solve?  Do you have any theories?

Personally, I think Colonel Mustard did it in the spaceship with a skateboard.

But what did he do?

*G*
]]> Caterwauling tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.65 2008-07-25T02:33:04Z 2008-07-28T23:26:54Z Aravis
Who says music soothes the savage beast? 
]]> Stealing My Heart? tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.64 2008-07-23T15:02:52Z 2008-07-24T04:35:06Z Aravis It Takes a Thief on Discovery Channel for some time now; Randy and I really enjoy it.  The premise is that two former thieves who have turned their lives around now find homes or businesses whose security is sadly lacking.  They get the homeowners' permission to rob the place within 2 weeks.  The producers outfit the house and property with cameras to catch everything when it goes down.  Jon cases the place until he's ready to break in.  Matt observes from a van, where the footage from the cameras inside the house is being recorded.  After the robbery, Matt meets with the homeowners when they discover what's happened.  They watch the footage together, then meet Jon as he returns their stuff.  Once their vulnerability has been hammered home, a security guard is posted overnight, and then Matt comes back the next day and has state-of-the-art security measures tailor-made for the homeowners' needs installed at no cost.  Finally, Jon and Matt come back once more within a couple of weeks after the place is secured, and Jon tries to get in again, to see if the owners are actually using the security measures put in place for them.

It's a great show, but it has engendered some interesting dreams and a little paranoia.  It's about what you'd expect: people breaking into my house, often Jon and Matt themselves.  Nothing original.

Except for last night.

I dreamt that Matt was my prom date. 

He spiffed up nicely, was a lot of fun and we had a great time.

Go figure.

]]> My Body Needs GPS tag:www.aravisarwen.com,2008://1.63 2008-07-23T03:57:09Z 2008-07-23T04:07:24Z Aravis
Are the bruises lost?

They must be using MapQuest.
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