It's a nice feeling to realize it's actually Saturday instead of Sunday. Yeah! One more free day!

.: 17 words at 04:35 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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A Cup of Light by Nicole Mones: a surprisingly good novel that deals with Chinese history, art fraud, and romance with a deft hand.

Lia Frank, a deaf porcelain art export, has been called to China to check the authenticity of twenty expensive, rare pots. When she arrives there, she finds out that it's not twenty pots she's checking, but rather 800. At this point, the mystery of where the pots came from begins since a collection of this magnitude is a rarity and valued at almost $200 million.

Lia is almost a mnemonist and is able to recall every pot that she's ever looked and every catalog or book that she's read dealing with porcelain. This allows her to relive Chinese history in trying to track the pots and I found these interludes some of the most interesting in the whole book.

While in China Lia also meets an American staying in the same place and they immediately click. Since she's only in China for a short while, it leads to questions about whether she should get involved with him or not.

On a side note, while I know you should never judge a book by its cover, the cover on this novel is absolutely stunning. The colors are beyond lovely and it actually seems to glow. The subtle Chinese characters repeated throughout the background and the beautiful picture of a cup is so perfect - very hoi moon.

I enjoyed reading this book immensely. It seemed almost like poetry as opposed to prose. The flashbacks to ancient China were amazing and the rich details of the porcelian pieces made me want to immediately visit a museum to see the type of perfection that she was describing. Mones is an extremely talented writer and I look forward to reading her first novel, Lost in Translation, and any others that she writes.

(Finished on October 25, 2003 for Zuly’s Reading Room.)

.: 324 words at 02:41 PM in Zuly's Reading Room, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I decided to extend the sign-up period for Burn It - The Fall until Monday, October 27th. You've got until then to sign up. After that, you're out of luck.

.: 30 words at 02:55 PM in Burn It, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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If you look down near the credits that are on every skin, you'll now notice two text links under the heading "Sponsored Ads." A little birdie had told me about this program, so I took a shot and signed up. Let me tell you, selling out was well worth it. I put those links on my pages and I've already been sent money via PayPal - an extremely fair amount in my opinion. You don't even have to have a certain number of clicks - just list the links.

Interested? Want to be a sell out too? Either send me an e-mail (change the AT to @) or leave a comment here and I'll pass your name on to the appropriate party. Let me tell you, with all the doctor bills that have started arriving, this was much needed!

.: 139 words at 08:02 PM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (8) :.

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I TiVoed Cold Case on CBS this weekend, but the shows were running twenty minutes behind and I missed the end of the show. I've looked for an episode guide to no avail, so I was wondering if anyone could fill me in on the ending. Thanks!

.: 47 words at 10:36 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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I came back from the doctor this afternoon and was going to post an update only to find that my site was down. Oy! Now that it's back up, here's the latest scoop.

The good news is that it is definitely not a blood clot and I probably don't have kidney stones. The bad news is that it is most likely a UTI (urinary tract infection) which hurts like a bitch. They're going to send off for some labwork to verify, but they've started me on more antibiotics.

I told the doctor that I was having a lot of back pain and since I can't take asprin, ibuprofen, Aleve, Midol, or Tylenol, what am I supposed to do for pain? That nice man wrote me a Vicodan perscription, so I took one when I got home and I'll tell you what, I definitely feel a lot better.

I really need to go to work tomorrow, so here's hoping that I don't feel in too much pain or too drugged up to go!

.: 172 words at 07:28 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

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I've been feeling shitty for the last few days, so I'm going into the doctor's office this morning to have him check me out. My back's been killing me and I'm half convinced it's another clot. Everyone send good thoughts my way so that it turns out I'm being paranoid and there's nothing wrong with me.

.: 56 words at 09:47 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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The Chrysalids by John Wyndham: this is science fiction at its best, relevant and enjoyable still even though it was published almost fifty years ago.

David Strorm lives in a community where genetic mutations are an every day part of life. Whenever these mutations occur (ranging from small differences like an extra toe or finger to the extreme like a two-headed calf), they are rooted out. In the case of livestock and crops they are destroyed and for those humans unlucky enough to deviate from the Divine Image of God, they are cast out of the community and sent to live in The Fringes.

David has the ability to communicate via telepathy, something he's been able to hide for most of his life. However, as he gets older and the risks are more serious, it becomes inevitable that his secret will be found out.

I completely devoured this book, enjoying every minute of it. Despite that it was written almost fifty years ago, the language and people of the book were as fresh as if their stories had just been conceived.

I wish that Wyndham would have written a sequel to this book so that I could see how everyone's lives played out and if information about The Tribulation was ever discovered (my money's on nuclear war).

Great book and at just 200 pages, a perfect, quick read. Recommended for all, especially sci-fi fans.

(Finished on October 18, 2003 for Zuly’s Reading Room.)

.: 244 words at 06:12 PM in Zuly's Reading Room, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (10) :.

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