Saturday 31 March 2012

Book Review: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life

Book Title Simple Secrets to a Happy Life
Author:  Luci Swindoll
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Cost: 15.99
Pages: 224 
How I got it: Advanced Readers Copy from Booksneeze.com
My rating: ★★★★☆ 
Synopsis:
Is it possible to stay full of life, laughter, love, and the Lord through eight decades in this crazy world? Is that even realistic? Yes! There is hope, and Luci Swindoll is living proof.With heart and humor, this best-selling author and beloved speaker lays out the truths that can help us all become a little more creative, organized, healthy, and happy. This is not a complex prescription for how to become superwoman. These are simple secrets, the wisdom produced by years of walking with God and living well.
We don’t need more tips for “having it all,” but we could all use insight on “having what matters,” and there is no better guide than Luci Swindoll.
Luci has spent eight decades accumulating the stories, memories, verses, and practical tips that make up Simple Secrets to a Happy Life. Whether traveling the world or building life-long friendships, singing in the opera or working for Mobil Oil, every step has taught her a little more about how to love God, love her neighbor, and love herself.
The result is both personal and universal. Organized into fifty short chapters, her reflections form a simple and profound outline for making the most of the lives God has given us.
My Review:
Written in short chapters headed by five simple words, "Simple Secrets to a happy life" by Kuci Swindoll is a short sweet reminder of some of life's simplest 'secrets'.

Written by a Christian for Christians, it however can be applied to anyone's life. You simply skip over the scriptures and accept the knowledge. For Christians, Swindoll quotes from the Bible showing different scriptures which show why these little anecdotes apply to your daily life.

I personally enyoued reading her personal stories which show why these particular 50 secrets have helped her live her life tot he fullest. Many of these 'secrets' are actually well known, yet we don't all follow them. Having them in one book is a great way on which to keep track of it within your life. This book personally couldn't have come at a better time for me, many of these things are coming up within my life right now and I am mediating on how to work them. I'm seeing them as a kick in the pants that I needed to get going on them. My copy of the book now has several tabs, and highlights of things I found to be pertinent.

Cons of the book: The very first chapter speaks to honoring your parents, which is a big Christian tenet, one which I ascribe to this day. But, as I was reading it the thought popped into my head " What if your parents aren't worth the air they breathe??" Some people shouldn't qualify to be human beings much less as parents. These people shouldn't be allowed back into your life especially if they have been verbally, physically or emotionally abusive to you or your family. They don't deserve to be 'honored' just so you can say you are being a good child. Swindoll who describes her home life as happy didn't make allowances for instances like this, perhaps because she herself has never experienced it. To reienforce her point she shared a story of a family friend who kept their mother who was abusive in their life .

Being a matyr shouldn't be required to prove you are a good human being, when someone is abusive, it's best to limit contact with them otherwise they would make it their mission to get back into control.

The other item I personally didn't like was her story in chapter 25 about the 'abusive' cub scout leader, 1) she didn't know if that was the cub scouts child, 2) as a non-parent discussing discipline techniques, I feel it's a no go because you haven't been there enough to know how or what works 3) it isn't abuse to give one tap to the head, I could see if the cub scout was beating this child down, but where did this belief come from that children are to only be coddled instead of disciplined?? Even if you don't agree with hitting children as a form of disciple, be careful what you term as 'abuse'.

Beyond this I personally enjoyed the book. It's a small easily accessible reminder to make life a whole lot simpler if we simply follow the known tenets that work instead of re-inventing the wheel.

***Blogging with intergrity and the FTC rules requires me as a blogger to state that I was given this book for free in exchange for a honest review. ***

Happy reading

Thursday 29 March 2012

Paranormal Telly: Supernatural

Show: Supernatural
Seasons: 7
Run Time: 40 mins
Air Dates & Time: CW Fridays 9/8 est
Reruns can be seen:  CW, Netflix


I have found a new obsession, yes, ladies and gents I am in love with this show. It's not new, but it's new to me. It's based on brothers Dean & Sam Winchester, who are hunters. They have been raised by their family to hunt the monsters of the world, including those hiding under your bed. Ha made you look. No but they are real, and these boys hunt them as a job.

As a job it sucks, they don't get paid, they lie constantly to be able to help people and sometimes the things they face kick their collective asses royally.   As the seasons progress the story becomes layered, they aren't just hunters, their family stretches back for many generations as hunters & as something else also I'll let you watch and figure it out for yourself).

The witty remarks, the thrown in nerdy jokes & comments, the clear mistakes that they leave in kind of reminds me of Buffy & Angel, which is great because they are produced by the same channel.  I love watching the show and cracking up because it's clear they aren't really driving the impala, (they drive the same highway all the time too). These little quirks make the show even more awesome, especially when I get the nerdy little comments, or the show or movie references that they will throw in.  

Soon enough we get introduced not just to monsters, demons, and God/Goddesses but to Angels as well, and they aren't your everyday kind of angels either.  I love the shows lore, and their obvious deep research on many subjects.  the characters are well written, have many different flaws, the story arc is amazing and well written. they don't just drop a story and leave it there, they almost always bring it back in some way shape or form in the next few episodes.  I love the nerdy jokes, the mythological lore they get right, the mention and presence of Gods including Loki which is one of the few they aren't able to kill. He always wins whenever he comes up against the Winchesters.

Now that you know the pros of the story here are a few things I personally don't like:
  • Every time the story introduces a black character, he or she goes full on psycho making it necessary for Dean and Sam to hunt and kill them. Only three black characters weren't evil, three out of the five or six they have shown; with only two of them having repeat appearances.  Really??/ There aren't any good black hunters?? Your doing hoodoo magick and looking into a lot of African lore and you only have two black good guys??? Not cool guys not cool at all.
  • The strong armed Judeo-christian message in the story, almost all the Pagan Gods are being hunted down for being 'monsters'. At a convention of the Gods which included Kali, Ganesh, Odin, Mercury, and a few others, Kali pointed out that the Judeo-Christians were hell bent of ending the world and ignoring the fact that other traditions and Gods existed and that their stories end a whole lot differently. (which is an excellent point)
  • the insistence that witches have sold their souls to devil, or to a demon. come on people have we not moved past this?? Witches are not the same as satanist. and I wish like heck they would stop equating us as the same. 
I'm sure as I watch the other seasons the show will have other things that I don't like but so far these are my big three that annoy me.  Other than this the show is pretty good at showcasing this world hidden within out world.

Enjoy the show and let me know what you think in the comments section..
Happy and Blessed Watching

Wednesday 28 March 2012

Blogiesta Ole'



Today is the first day of Blogiesta Party, which is a great party to help you fix your blog. Wait Suey explains it way better, here it is:
It's time! Do you plan to fiesta with us the weekend of March 30, 31 and April 1? Do you have things you'd like to do on your blog that you haven't managed to get to in forever? Do you want to do those things with lots of other bloggers from all over? Talk things over with them? Bounce ideas off them? Learn from them? Teach them too?
If so, you will not want to miss the latest installment of Bloggiesta!A blogathon created nearly three years ago by Natasha of Maw Books so we could do those very things listed above!
To participate, please sign the Mr. Linky below with a link to your blog, specifically to a post stating your intention to join us on this weekend. We'd love for you to help us spread the news so we can be sure to find all those who'd like to join the fun.
Remember, the level of commitment is up to you. We'd love for you to find lots of time to devote to blogging with us during those three days, but if you have just one day that you can join us, or even just a few hours of one day, please do not hesitate to sign up.
If you decide to participate, here's what you can expect:
  • to spend time that weekend (as much or as little as your schedule allows) working on your blog
  • to create a to do list to share on your blog and link up with other participants
  • to hopefully participant in several mini challenges and learn something new
  • to connect with other participants through blog hopping or twitter
  • to make new blogging friends!
  • to come away at the end of the three days with a spiffed up blog!
  • If all that sounds like something you'd like to do, please write a post letting us know and link up! OLE!
I am participating to do the following on the blog:

  1. Clean up the sidebar, 3/30
  2. fix my Blog Button 3/30
  3. Create the small twitter, amazon., goodreads buttons to help neaten up the sidebar  3/30
  4. adjust blog header for Spring 3/30
  5. Clear 5 draft posts Completed : 1 Balance: 4
  6. Put up two of the Celtic Tree Months posts
  7. Link up all or most of my reviews to Goodreads, amazon, and their prospective challenges 3/31
  8. Place the new blog giveaway article up as well as the button  
  9. Write up three posts for the week 4/01
  10. Complete book reviews for the non reviewed books for this month so far
  11. Make Pages button into a drop down button Couldn't do pages for some reason so I did Labels instead. YAY 3/31
  12. Update Lust List
  13. Update all challenge posts 3/31
  14. Put up IMM for this Sunday 3/31
  15. Clean up Picasa Album, deleting duplicate photos
  16. Fix posts where signatures or photos are missing
  17. Fix posts that need to be adjusted: older book reviews
  18. Put blog signature on early photos
  19. Attempt to fix theme/template to new template 3/30
  20. Complete challenges for this Blogiesta event
That's my list and goals for this weekend, so when you see the changes on the blog, just please pardon my dust.

Thanks and Be Blessed


Tuesday 27 March 2012

Book Review: The Best of Me


Book Title: The Best of Me
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher:  Hachette Book Group
Cost: $25.99
Pages: 292
How I got it: Library
Synopsis: THE BEST OF ME is the heart-rending story of two small-town former high school sweethearts from opposite sides of the tracks. Now middle-aged, they've taken wildly divergent paths, but neither has lived the life they imagined . . . and neither can forget the passionate first love that forever altered their world. When they are both called back to their hometown for the funeral of the mentor who once gave them shelter, they will be forced to confront the choices each has made, and ask whether love can truly rewrite the past.

My Review:
OMG I laughed, I fell in love, I cried, this book was AMAZING!!!! I wouldn't be surprised if this was made into a movie as well. Dawson is the most amazing male character ever, I at first couldn't understand why he lived his life the way he did, until we met Amanda. Amanda the 'perfect' town girl who was feeling lonely in the crowd and found her perfect home with Dawson, a young man from the wrong side of the tracks. At first I was intrigued by the story, then I was captivated, Dawson's upbringing his determination to never be like the Coles and his need to prove to himself at least that he would never go back there.

I read this book in one day that's how awesome it is. Mr. Sparks writes eloquently about love, whether lost, unrequainted, love in all it's glory, it's messiness and the even the ugly side of love.  I read this book and I became lost within the story, I was rooting for Amanda & Dawson, I wanted Dawson to get something beautiful in his life, something worth living for, and in the end he did.

Amanda however, I both loved and hated her for her courage and her cowardice, as her mother told her, her decisions made the consequences of this book, if she made different choices years ago then the last few pages of the book would haven't been that way. But it wouldn't have been such a touching heartrending story. I raced to read the end of the book because I really needed to know was this going to be a happy ending, a messy ending, or what? When I got there I cried buckets because this ending wasn't what I expected.  

I'm in love with this book, and I will be adding this to the collection. This is a definite  ★★★★★
burn rubber to add to your collection. 

Happy Reading
Be Blessed

Friday 23 March 2012

March 2012 TBR List:


I am attempting to break down the TBR Pile into easily completed chunks. Here I will list the books I have to review, books I need to read for myself and return, and just whatever books I have that I'm attempting to get read.  Follow my progress on Goodreads

Goal for the Month: 15 Books  Left:  9    Completed: 6  Bonus: 1/6


Advanced Review Book List:
  • Alls Fair in Vanities War ~ Elizabeth Marx 3/25
  • A Sound Among the Trees ~ Susan Meissner
  • The Magickal Retreat ~ Susan Pesznecker
  • A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans ~ Thea Sabin
  • Deadly Politics ~ Maggie Sefton
  • The Book of Madness & Cures ~ 
  • The City's Son ~ Tom Polluck
  • Simple Secrets to a happy life ~ Luci Swindell 3/30
  • House of Saint's ~ A.C. Mason 3/28
  • Enchanted ~ Josee' Renard 3/22
My Own Review:
  • Celebrity in Death ~ JD Robb 3/25
  • Dark Curse ~ Christine Feehan
  • Dark Peril ~ Christine Feehan
  • Dark Symphony ~ Christine Feehan
  • The Best of Me ~ Nicholas Sparks 3/23
  • The Lucky One ~ Nicholas Sparks
  • Triangles ~ Ellen Hopkins
Bonus:
  • New York In Dallas JD Robb
  • Salvation In Death JD Robb
  • Into the Free ~ Julie Cantrell
  • Bring on the Blessings ~ Beverly Jenkings
  • Undomestic Goddess ~ Sophie Kinsella
  • Keeper of the Spirit ~ Ruby Storm 3/22

Thursday 22 March 2012

Paranormal Telly: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Seasons: 7
Run Time: 40 mins
Air Dates & Time: Show cancelled
Reruns can be seen; Hulu Plus, Netflix
This has got to be one of the best 'supernatural' shows out there. It was on when i was growing up but for some stupid reason I didn't want to watch it. Oh Yeah i didn't want to 'follow the crowd', this was perhaps a stupid mistake.
I gotta say this show was amazing, the witty banter between the characters, the story arcs, the way the story flowed, the writers did an amazing job on this show, and I'm sure many of you are already Buffy lovers because of it.  I loved the fact that the characters would change and grow, all while hanging on to a sense of humour even in the worst situations. many even though he was a little twisted I Loved Spike more than Angel, yeah yeah yeah I know but I just love the blonde. he was totally awesome, crazy but awesome.  They have some pretty memorable lines and scenes through out the shows, I particularly enjoyed how they would let the 'outside' world in and make obvious comments about happenings throughout the real world, or even mention movies, the characters have been in.

I watched all the seasons over the course of a month, with my sisters and we all loved it, discussed and argued over the characters and the show, it was totally awesome.

It carried some heavy Christian overtones, got some stuff wrong about witchcraft had Willow go crazy for a little while but even then they relied some truth. And it was of course one of the first shows that showed a Lesbian couple kissing on prime time tv.

Check the series out at your local library if they have it, if not then you must check it out on Hulu Plus, and on Netflix.
It's a MUST see!!!

Be Blessed and Happy Watching

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Book Review: Strangers In Death

Book Title: Strangers in Death
Author: JD Robb
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Cost: Hardcover $27.95, MM $7.99, ebook $7.99
Pages: 356
How I got it: Library
Synopsis:
Technology may be different in 2060 New York, yet the city is still a place of many cultures and great divides. But as ever, some murders receive more attention than others-especially those in which the victim is a prominent businessman, found in his Park Avenue apartment, tied to the bed-and strangled- with cords of black velvet.

It doesn't surprise Lieutenant Eve Dallas that Thomas Anders's scandalous death is a source of titillation and speculation to the public-and of humiliation to his family. But while people in the city are talking about it, those close to Anders aren't so anxious to do the same. With some help from her billionaire husband, Roarke, Eve's soon knocking on doors-or barging through them-to find answers.

My Review:
It's another day in Eve's world and another murder has taken place, this time to a prominent business man, one well liked by the business community.  there are almost no leads, but Eve has her instincts and they tell her who the killer is from the get go. This time I both agreed with her logic but needed her to prove it & boy did she prove it.

I have my issues with Eve (i'll share those another time) but I do love her world. Her secondary characters truly help to make the book, i personally wished we could she more of Dr. Mira (& not just in the professional setting); I find Peabody & McNab fascinating as a couple as well as her secondary characters. I also wished we heard from them more, but this series focus is Eve, so we hear from her the most.

As the story is told, we learn more about each of the characters and what is happening in their lives, Eve is of course still uncomfortable (all these years later and she still hasn't changed) with the displays of happiness. She and Roarke go a couple of rounds at each other, and learn to build their relationship a little more. Roarke is amazing, Eve is insanely frustrating cool and yet they work it out pretty well.

There is mystery, romance, & some kick-ass futuristic stuff (which seems to be coming true a lot sooner than the books anticipated dates, like ebook readers. Makes you wonder if they read her books for the idea or did she see that coming down the pipe?? hmmm the chicken/egg argument.

I personally enjoyed this installment into the series.  A definite 'burn rubber to get it' kind of rating.

Happy Reading

 Buy on Amazon                            Add to Goodreads

Book Review: Dark Predator

Book Title: Dark Predator
Author: Christine Feehan
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Cost: $
Pages: 400, 332 story the rest is a glossary to the Carpathian world
How I got it: Library
My Rating: ★★★ ☆ ☆
Synopsis:

As brutal as the undead he hunted, Zacarias De La Cruz was a master executioner. Over the long, dark centuries, he plunged into so many battles they blurred into an endless lifetime of evil that hardened the soul of this merciless, ruthless and implacable dark predator.Now his stark and savage journey is over. After a thousand years in a gray world, he has accomplished everything he set out to do. His brothers are safeguarded. Each has found a woman who completes them. And they are at peace. For his brothers, Zacarias has walked the edge of madness, but with centuries as a killing machine now left to the past and without a hunt to define him, Zacarias wonders, for the first time in his life, who he really is.The answer awaits him back home in Peru , in the betrayal of a woman who is readying her trap, in the vengeance of an old enemy, in the inevitable consequences of a bloody family legacy, and in the deliverance of a lifemate he never could have imagined. 
My Review:
I'll be honest, I read a few reviews that ripped Christine a new one for this book, and I was all ready to go into the book hating Zacarius. As I was reading this book I remembered why I had stopped reading these novels, in truth I remembered when I read Dark Secret, even as I re-read the anthologies I remembered.  As I read the books I realised there is a lot of violence in this world, particularly aimed at women.  Many of the 'heroes' of the series make it their mission to claim these women,  but want the women to conform to their idea of a mate; few ever take into consideration the feelings of said mate with the notable exception of a few:  Riodarn, Triann, Lucian & Gabriel & in some instances Gregori are perhaps the only males who made conscious efforts to take into account the feelings of the women they were marrying.

Z had found his mate but it didn't happen the way others were able to claim their mates, which made him doubtful and in truth resentful of his mate.  He was for the first 100 or so pages a complete a**hole to his mate.  He was physically, emotionally & mentally abusive within the first few moments of being awake with her. As I read I understood why he did it, yet I still couldn't get down with Z as a hero.

This is perhaps the hardest book to read, there was almost no romance in the book until way later.  Z is clearly a breast man which he obsessively lets us know as he seduces his mate; he very rarely thinks about what she would like, which is different from the other men, who seem to really want their mates to be happy.

Pros:
  • Z is perhaps the hardest of the Carpathians, he is the closest to turning vampire and in fact has only been kept alive because his family won't let him die. This make him one heck of a character to read.
  • Margarita is the first female we meet who has any kind of 'imperfection' or who isn't a 'perfect specimen', yes i know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but when she describes all the women, it's hard to 1)imagine them being mated to someone so different 2)really putting ourselves in their places and really getting into the novel.
  • Z as a character is far more complicated & nuanced than any of the previous Carpathians, he had some deep issues he needed to deal with and much like a human he hid from them.
  • Margarita never backed down, she wasn't easily cowed, but she was the perfect submissive & I think that's where Christine Feehan lost a few people, she described 'subspace' when discussing the relationship between Margarita and Zacarius and those who aren't aware or comfortable with BDSM perhaps didn't get it or catch that phrase and understand the relationship between Z and M.
  • When you learn his background you can kind of understand why Z is the way he is, he's complicated and has some deep emotional issues that he doesn't know how to handle so this made him way more real than the other men.
  • This book far outpaced the others in action and in hte workings of the vampires, I think she learned they couldn't wash as just idiots because they turned vampires, especially if they were once 'great Carpathian', we really get to see them in this novel, & even interact with a few
  • Dominic makes a nice return and share some seriously needed humor in this book, although his moment was only brief.  
Cons:
  • Zacarius is clearly the dominant one in the relationship, but there is a fine line between being a Dom and being domineering a**hole and sometimes Z looks at that line and tap dances over it without any remorse.
  • there are instances within the story that make me wonder about this book, is it supposed to be a 'romance' because if it is, it's seriously lacking the 'romance' aspect. 
  • Most of this book is from Z's POV and he is deeply entrenched within his own head and doesn't attempt to understand M's reasoning at all
  • Perhaps because of his decision early on in the book, Z seemed to dislike and sometimes really hate M
  • Rape seems to be used quite often in these novels especially in this one, Z made a thought that he wished to just 'take without consent' pg 75 ugh PAUSE not cool Z not cool. When a female character didn't do as she was told, a family 'friend' almost raped her. I personally think she throws these scenes thinking it helps the story, infact it wasn't necessary, at least not to me.
  • Z keeps mentioning he is an older, meaner, hunter than the others, but he is at least 1000 years younger than Lucian & Gabriel and they didn't treat their mates this way AT ALL.
This is a hard book to rate, I wouldn't say "Burn rubber to get it", but it's not a "Don't bother" either. It falls somewhere in between, If you have space on your bookshelves and want to read a book, then this is one you can check out. I liked it, but I won't be repeating the experience.

Happy Reading

Sunday 18 March 2012

In My Mailbox (7)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi over at the Story Siren. It's a chance to showcase the books you have made their way into your home through the post, through email, from the library, as gifts, or purchased during the week. You get a chance to show off the books that you may not get a chance to review or read, but want your bloggie friends to see.

I have been knocking back books like shots on a friday night. I was super excited to get some more new books this week. I was a little too happy with the clicker and clicked a lot of books ummm I guess I thought they would tell me I'm too new and I should come back, sooooo...yea.  I have linked all the books that I can to goodreads.

I got my first physical ARC from Blogging for Books and I'm super excited to read it. I feel official now lolol. 
A Sound Among The Trees by Susan Meissner

Le Sigh, can I say Melissa I tried to follow your advice, but my fingers just kept clicking 'request', I made eight requests and they were all granted. Let me tell you I almost passed out. 

From Netgalley I got:
A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans by Thea Sabin,
Change comes to Dinner by Katherine Gustafson

 Deadly Politics by Maggie Sefton
The New Tarot Handbook by Rachel Pollack
The Book of Madness and Cures by Regina O'Melveney.  


The City's Son by Tom Pollock
Burn by Heath Gibson

The Magickal Retreat since this really isn't listed on Goodreads, I'm going to link to the publisher's page. This book looks amazing, I can't wait to get a physical copy as well. What I have glimpsed so far is pretty amazing.

I joined the Double Day Book Club and got five books for 0.99 cents. Yes hardcover books for 0.20 cents each. Then I got another for $6.99; I  got the following:
I got Bullet & Hit List by Laurell K. Hamilton, which helps me finish my collection from her, now I just need the new book coming out and Flirt and I will have all the Anita books.  A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, which everyone seemed so excited about last year, & I just had to get it. 

Second Grave on the Left, Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones are the follow ups to First Grave, which was in one of my other IMMs, & I love that now I can read the whole story without having to wait a long time for the next installment, I also hear there is a fourth book coming out, so that will go on the Lust List as well. I also got The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen, I have read the book and reviewed it here, I got it simply to start adding more of her books to my collection, I have Garden Spells & The Sugar Queen & I have a few more to get from her then I will have all her books as well.. 
As well as from paperbackswap:
Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham, I'm not Wiccan, I got this to learn more about the tradition and to have a better understanding of the differences as well as pick up some new techniques (maybe), Celtic Myths and Legends by TW Rolleston because I'm a Celt lover and I love myths and stories, *can't be a bard without stories to tell* & I got The Highlander's Touch by Karen Marie Moning, because we have established I love Karen MM, 
And from Booksneze:

Lucy Swindoll's Simple Secret's to a Happy Life.

What did you get in your mailbox this week?? Any fun reads I can add to my Lust List?? Share in the comments and I will swing on by your page. Thanks for sharing and for reading
Happy Reading this week!!





Thursday 15 March 2012

Paranormal Telly: Warehouse 13


Welcome Back to Paranormal Telly series, where I share my favorite shows that have a paranormal slant.  This weeks offering comes again from Syfy and it's called Warehouse 13.
I LOVE this show, yes I know I showcase all my favorite shows, why would I waste your time & mine talking about something I really don't love.  Are you a fan of good cop pairings then your going to love this. enter into this genre Wiki synopsis
The series follows United States Secret Service Agents Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) and Peter Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) when they are assigned to the government's secret Warehouse 13 for supernatural "artifacts". It is located in a barren landscape in South Dakota, and they initially regard the assignment as punishment. As they go about their assignments to retrieve missing Warehouse 13 artifacts and investigate reports of new ones, they come to understand the importance of what they are doing.They are enthusiastically joined by young, hip, brilliant techno-wiz Claudia Donovan" Warehouse 13
Peter is awesome, the consomitate class clown with a hard cop edge who runs on instinct and then there is his partner Myka who needs all the facts before she does anything.  They fuss, they fight, they work extremely well together.
Their job is to hunt down all the weird and unexplainable objects that are affecting the world they interact with. Some of my favorite characters from other shows also including many from the town of  Eureka and Harry from Dresden Files (although he wasn't Harry on the show) have made appearances on the show.  I laugh at so many of the nerdy jokes on there, so many historical stories re-written for these episodes, I love each episode especially the ones that have a great deal of the 'steampunk' going on. Yeah it's a great show for the nerd in all of us.

The show can be found on Netflix, and Hulu.  The show is on hiatus right now, but it comes back again this Spring. I can't wait until it does.

Happy Watching.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Book Review: Horns of Power



Book Title: Horns of Power: Manisfestations of the Horned God
Author: Anthology edited by Sorita D'este
Publisher: Avalonia
Cost: $24.99
Pages: 204
How I got it: Free for Kindle
My Rating: ★★★★★
Synopsis:
The raw, ancient and primordial force symbolised by horns has long had associations with mystery, magick and power. Our ancestors often envisaged their gods as anthropomorphic beings who encapsulated this wild essence. Today the gods of the bull, the ram, the goat and the stag still hold tremendous power and are invoked at rituals by a new priesthood who continue to seek the wildness of nature and the inspiration that it holds. These deities transcend the safe and known boundaries of human structure, sometimes even luring us across the threshold of the known into the unknown worlds beyond. This unique anthology brings together the work of more than twenty people, including that of dedicated scholars and modern day mystics. Through their written and artistic contributions they illustrate some of the many manifestations of the Horned God.


My Review:

I used to be a Christian (shocker I know), when I left I sought the Craft because there was a Divine Feminine, something totally missing in the patriarchal traditions. Like many of those who are refugees from the heavy handed and jealous God; I found it hard to look to the Divine Masculine the way I embraced the Divine Feminine, and for that reason I found it especially hard to reconcile or even work with the male energies within the Craft.  Obviously knowing this the God stepped back and allowed me to grow in my understanding of myself and my faith in the Goddess before stepping back into my life.

As I have grown in the Craft I noticed that the God has taken on a stronger role in my life. One of my Patrons who came looking for me was Anubis, of the Kemetic tradition. Since the Kemetic tradition is based mostly on academic research and the left over tales, legends, myths, rituals and actually written texts of Egypt, there is plenty of information on which to base my practice on. I am also heavily influenced by the Celtic traditions, and was fascinated by Herne, here however there wasn't as much.
When I realized I was comfortable working with the male energy I went seeking to understand the Horned God and discovered that unlike the deluge of books dedicated to the Goddess in all her guises, and traditions very few were written on the God. The few that were written were directed at men in the craft. That left me with very little to fall back on or to even guide me in my workings with Him.

I recently was told about this book being offered by amazon for kindle for free and i went ahead and downloaded it. It sat on my pc for a few weeks until I got an android phone and downloaded the kindle app there. That was probably one of my better decisions. 

This books is amazing. I read and fell in love with the poetry, the well researched and referenced articles,the amazing artwork. This book is so good I'm purchasing a physical copy to have as reference for myself.

Each author did their level best not just to give the academic knowledge of the article but their personal stories as well. Those that could not empirically prove thier points academically made sure to note that even though there is no 'known' proof having worked with the God themselves they can share this information.  Each author let the love of the God and all he meant and does mean to their tradition shine through.

From discussion of known Gods and their connections to the different kinds of horns of power to the little known Gods and their own manifestations.  There were even articles that dealt with the Goddesses who had Horns of Power as well. The God was discussed in such a way as to make him real and accessible to any who wished to meet him. There are even meditations on how to meet and walk with certain Gods.  

For me reading the personal stories made the God come alive like never before. This wasn't just a dry academic tome about the 'how' of the God but a living translation of the 'who' the God is.

I love this book and think it should be included in every witch's bookshelf who wishes to become more well rounded and balanced.

A burn rubber to get this amazing book.
Happy Reading

Monday 12 March 2012

Can You Feel it??

Yesterday the twig was brown and bare;
To-day the glint of green is there;
Tomorrow will be leaflets spare;
I know no thing so wondrous fair,
No miracle so strangely rare.
I wonder what will next be there!
~L.H. Bailey
It’s almost Ostara/Eostre!!! Here in the east it has been warm, yes I know it’s winter, but it has been in the 40s and today it will be in the 50s. The last few says have been amazing here, warm, and very spring feeling, but the nights have sometimes been bitterly cold, as if the Winter isn't ready to let go and move on yet.

This weekend was an awesome weekend of learning, about blogging, about books & blogging, about HTML, about kitchen witchin, and most of all about myself. I got accepted on Netgalley which is an awesome way to get books before their release, I told my book blogging friends about it last weekend and Melissa warned me about requesting too many books....my brain heard, my fingers didn't get the message. I went on this morning bright and early and noted I had been approved for seven of my titles that I requested. Well!!! Can we say totally freaking COOOOOOOLLLLLL!!!!! Luckily they aren't due out until June or July and the publisher doesn't want reviews up until 30 days before or 30 days after release, so I'm golden. I will try to see if I can get book tours going so you guys can join in on the fun and win some awesome books. YAYAY.

Despite all the Internet work I got a lot of reading done, I finished a couple of awesome books, I'm in the middle of a hilarious one, and I got to go outside this weekend and enjoy the full moon. I didn't do any real esbat official ritual I simply meditated on the moon, tried taking pictures (I'm thinking I need a new camera).

Yesterday was our local St.Paddy's Day parade, I didn't get to go, because I picked up an extra shift at work, Downtown was beautifully decorated though,
 I went walking to start to meet the local dryads, as there are tons of trees in town Green almost all of them 50 years or older, many with knobby roots and interesting branches, this is one fo the original founding towns of CT as well as the 13 colonies, I'm sure these trees, woods, & these ancient buildings have seen much.  
Downtown New Haven is awesome and I walked much of Yale on Friday, I found little yarn shop, an awesome pub and a great green market.
I admired architecture, found hidden nooks and saw some signs of spring in the blooming of little yellow plants.
Yes this weekend was awesome.

How was your weekend? See any signs of spring? Learn anything new and exciting you want to share?
Happy Monday


Sunday 11 March 2012

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of Tthe Story Siren. It's a chance to highlight books that have made their way into your home, either via the post, the internet, gift, purchase or library. You can show off books that you might never get a chance to read, or review, but still want your bloggie friends to see.

On of these books I had in my collection years ago, and when I decided to clean out my library somehow it ended up in the sell pile and I never noticed until it was gone :(. Thanks to paperbackswap.com I have gotten it back, and added two new ones which look brand new and have no creases at ALL. Totally awesome.  I actually did a series review for them here. The first one is The Immortal Highlander (Goodreads) by Karen Marie Moning:
The other two I never got a chance to read, so you know they are joining the TBR Pile right?? These two are The Dark Highlander (Goodreads) also by Karen Marie Moning
 The other one is also by Karen Marie Moning "To tame a highland warrior" (Goodreads)
The last of my library books came in, which means now I have a ton of reading to do:
Celebrity in Death which is the book that came out in the end of Feb (love my library so much) I can't renew because there are give holds on it so, gotta read and return in seven days.
the other two are Dark Curse which helps with the Feehan part of my list.I'm trying to finish the set if you haven't noticed all the books, so I also got one more:

and Dark Peril which also helps with the Feehan part of my list: Apparently someone else is also reading the series because they have checked out all the other books in the series and haven't returned them yet. If I can't get them soon I'm going to cry. Yeah I said it, then I'm going to have to break the book buying hiatus and pick them up...any excuse I will use any excuse. :P

I'm in tears right now, because I went and ran errands and the UPS guy came on friday with packages from publishers and i wasn't here to get it. I really wanted those books, gods damn it. Well they will be here tomorrow and guess where this chicky is going to be?? Yep sitting here waiting until they get here.

What'd y'all get in your mailbox this week?  Anything good? Share your link and I will swing by.
Also have you entered into the full moon giveaway?? No click here to check it out.

***Also did you Spring your clock forward yet?? It happened this morning so right now your an hour behind if you didn't **