by Robert Louis Stevenson
05 January 2011
Book Review: Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
by Robert Louis Stevenson
03 January 2011
Book Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank BaumPictures by W.W. Denslow
Book Review has been moved to this post on LeviSamJuno Reads.
2011 E-Book Challenge
The 2011 E-Book Challenge is being hosted by The Ladybug Reads. I don't have an e-reader except for an app I downloaded to my computer from Google called "Reader Library" that allows me to download and read books from the Sony ReaderStore, including access to the free public domain books from Google Books.
Click the image above to go to the site of the challenge host for more information and to sign up for the challenge. I am going to start small and try for the "Curious" Level (read 3 e-books), but I may surprise myself and reach one of the higher levels: Fascinated (6), Addicted (12), or Obsessed (20).
Books I've Read for the
2011 E-Book Challenge
1. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
2. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
3.
01 January 2011
Bible in a Year 2011
With a fresh year ahead of me, I pray that this will be the year I read the Bible all the way through and hope to grow closer to God and learn more about Him and my role in His kingdom in the process. Using the plan from the Bible Reading website, I am once again going to attempt to read the Bible in a year (BiaY).
Last year I started out really well until I started missing a day here and there and trying to catch myself up before missing a few days. Before long I had missed whole books and then abandoned the effort entirely, going right back to where I started.
At the top of my sidebar on top of the rest of my reading challenges this year is my tracker for the BiaY. I am tracking it by number of chapters read (out of a total of 1189 chapters in the King James Version). Fortunately the ubiquity of the Bible in many places makes missing a reading difficult to accomplish: I have used my pocket Bible, BibleGateway, and the Bible reading plan website to catch up on my reading in the past. So, admittedly, I have no excuse to not do this.
Feel free to join in with me, too. I need the extra accountability and support.
Greetings, 2011!
What a year was 2010! I started out the year with the 2-week-old news that I was going to be a father, something made all the more real by my wife's constant morning (and afternoon, and evening) sickness. Silly me, I thought I could handle a 100 book reading challenge, regular book reviews, Bible reading updates, and other normal blog updates while finding a house, trying to rent out a house, preparing for a baby, and taking care of Rebecka. A quick look at my updates from 2010 shows how well that went.
With the year beginning with plans for a baby in the late summer, we worked busily to get everything in order so he would have a place to stay. At the time we lived in a two-bedroom apartment where the second bedroom was my wife's work-at-home office, leaving maybe a drawer for our coming son to have as a bed were we to stay there. So, we upgraded our house search to level orange.
Meanwhile, Rebecka has a home near Cleveland where she lived before we got married and she moved down here to southern Ohio. It was at the time occupied by some of her family members and her mortgage was taken care of and everything went well. However they found themselves a house, which then required us to prepare that house for rental. We had tried selling it before, but the market for houses was historically dismal, so we took a week in the spring to fix up little things here and there and put it up for rent. Renters finally in place, we no longer had to worry about that house (except for, of course, the problems arising from being a landlord), and we pressed on to find our new house.
Through what can only be a divine intervention, we found a house that had been on the market for only a week and that was only being sold by the owner instead of through a realtor. The owners, however, had found that house through the realtor we were using to buy a house, and things just fit together just right for us to get the house: a 3-bedroom with 2 garages and a nice, fenced-in backyard with a swing set already in place.
The main obstacle then was the fact that we had two months before our son was due and had to move from our apartment to the house and (the nesting urge so great in Rebecka by now) prepare his room. Of course, new obstacles arose (getting rid of a pest problem, having to replace the carpets, moving in and out of the garage several times), until we finally had everything in place nearly a week before Samuel arrived.
Ah, yes: Samuel, our new son. First-time parents never expect that first month, and I was not at all prepared. It (the whole parenting thing) has gotten much better since then, and he's so fun now with his smiles and learning to laugh.
So, forgive my absence this past year. This year promises to be bigger.
With the year beginning with plans for a baby in the late summer, we worked busily to get everything in order so he would have a place to stay. At the time we lived in a two-bedroom apartment where the second bedroom was my wife's work-at-home office, leaving maybe a drawer for our coming son to have as a bed were we to stay there. So, we upgraded our house search to level orange.
Meanwhile, Rebecka has a home near Cleveland where she lived before we got married and she moved down here to southern Ohio. It was at the time occupied by some of her family members and her mortgage was taken care of and everything went well. However they found themselves a house, which then required us to prepare that house for rental. We had tried selling it before, but the market for houses was historically dismal, so we took a week in the spring to fix up little things here and there and put it up for rent. Renters finally in place, we no longer had to worry about that house (except for, of course, the problems arising from being a landlord), and we pressed on to find our new house.
Through what can only be a divine intervention, we found a house that had been on the market for only a week and that was only being sold by the owner instead of through a realtor. The owners, however, had found that house through the realtor we were using to buy a house, and things just fit together just right for us to get the house: a 3-bedroom with 2 garages and a nice, fenced-in backyard with a swing set already in place.
The main obstacle then was the fact that we had two months before our son was due and had to move from our apartment to the house and (the nesting urge so great in Rebecka by now) prepare his room. Of course, new obstacles arose (getting rid of a pest problem, having to replace the carpets, moving in and out of the garage several times), until we finally had everything in place nearly a week before Samuel arrived.
Ah, yes: Samuel, our new son. First-time parents never expect that first month, and I was not at all prepared. It (the whole parenting thing) has gotten much better since then, and he's so fun now with his smiles and learning to laugh.
So, forgive my absence this past year. This year promises to be bigger.
22 July 2010
The Scariest Street in Kentucky
I like to zip around Google Earth and land in random places, take a look around, see if I can see a funny product placement, strange street arrangements, people doing strange things, or even see something I may have actually seen in person at one time.
My latest journey landed me virtually in the northeast-of-center part of Kentucky in a small town called Carlisle, which is actually a drivable distance from where I currently live.
View Larger Map
There was nothing immediately spectacular about this location. I just clicked from street to street, noticing little businesses and such.
Then I found it: the scariest street in Kentucky. West North Street, Carlisle, Kentucky.
When I saw the first image, I thought perhaps it was a simple image anomaly—overexposure or something. But all along this street is a stream of what could best be described as a shadow of what may actually be there. You'll have to look it up yourself to get the full effect of the terror that grew as I viewed image after image of distorted, indescribable horror, which I will now begin to describe.
My latest journey landed me virtually in the northeast-of-center part of Kentucky in a small town called Carlisle, which is actually a drivable distance from where I currently live.
View Larger Map
There was nothing immediately spectacular about this location. I just clicked from street to street, noticing little businesses and such.
Then I found it: the scariest street in Kentucky. West North Street, Carlisle, Kentucky.
When I saw the first image, I thought perhaps it was a simple image anomaly—overexposure or something. But all along this street is a stream of what could best be described as a shadow of what may actually be there. You'll have to look it up yourself to get the full effect of the terror that grew as I viewed image after image of distorted, indescribable horror, which I will now begin to describe.
13 February 2010
Movie Review: Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Tonight Rebecka and I went on our Valentine's date to eat at Fazoli's and to see Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The spaghetti was unexpectedly tasty this time around; the movie was also in many ways unexpected, but more about that in a bit.
The movie is based on Rick Riordan's first book in the Percy Jackson
series. The title character (in the book) is a teenage boy with ADHD and dyslexia who finds himself facing monsters of mythological proportions and the revelation that reveals him to be the son of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. (More about the book can be found at my review of the book, once I finally finish writing it.) Percy is taken to Camp Half Blood with his best friend Grover, whom he discovers is a satyr, and father figure and now camp counselor/trainer Mr. Brunner, who was his Greek mythology teacher, but now at the camp for demigods is in his true form as a centaur.
Director Chris Columbus (also director and producer of many of the Harry Potter movies, among other notable films) and Fox 2000 Pictures present a visually stunning sequence of action, disturbing monsters, and mythological adventure. If this movie was not geared toward a 3D experience, it very well could be done. I actually had to turn my head a few times to avoid hydra heads and a very frightening harpy (whose on-screen time was all too short). Otherworldly locations like Mount Olympus and the Underworld were breathtakingly realistic.
Now to the aforementioned "unexpected" part of the movie. Because I am writing this review from the perspective of one who enjoyed reading the series, much of my disappointment in the film is connected to the differences from the book. The producers presented a rather shortened and reimagined film that ended up only somewhat tied to the book. Sure, some of the characters are there (with the exclusion of a few that I thought were intimately connected to the enjoyment of the book), and the basic premise and goal of the movie matches the text. Of course, I understand that movies have to edit down the books on which they are based for time purposes; otherwise you get a six-hour movie that the common viewer does not have the attention span to endure (not unlike Percy Jackson).
However, I do not understand the redrawing of many of the scenes to the point of no recognition. One of the key plot points in the book was the way Percy discovered he was a son of Poseidon; in fact, much of the first half of the book was spent building up to that fact to the surprise of not only Percy, but the entire camp—Chiron included. The movie (even from the trailers) just lays that fact right out and no one seems very affected by it save Percy. In the end, I wondered if the screenwriter actually read the book; at best, I think someone he knew read The Lightning Thief when it first came out and then tried to recollect it to the screenwriter over the phone amid frequent dropped calls and other interruptions.
The movie's incongruity aside, it was still fun to watch. And my wife, who had never read the book, really enjoyed it. The movie is PG, but it seemed to be a bit much for some of our audience members under the age of eight; a couple mild vulgarities for "comic" effect seemed a little superfluous and might cause some to leave the younger ones at home. So, I definitely recommend the movie more to nonreaders, even though readers and fans of the book will enjoy it; but, like me, they might spend most of the time arguing with the movie in their heads and spend the ride home explaining what "really happened" to anyone willing (or not) to listen.
The movie is based on Rick Riordan's first book in the Percy Jackson
series. The title character (in the book) is a teenage boy with ADHD and dyslexia who finds himself facing monsters of mythological proportions and the revelation that reveals him to be the son of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea. (More about the book can be found at my review of the book, once I finally finish writing it.) Percy is taken to Camp Half Blood with his best friend Grover, whom he discovers is a satyr, and father figure and now camp counselor/trainer Mr. Brunner, who was his Greek mythology teacher, but now at the camp for demigods is in his true form as a centaur.Director Chris Columbus (also director and producer of many of the Harry Potter movies, among other notable films) and Fox 2000 Pictures present a visually stunning sequence of action, disturbing monsters, and mythological adventure. If this movie was not geared toward a 3D experience, it very well could be done. I actually had to turn my head a few times to avoid hydra heads and a very frightening harpy (whose on-screen time was all too short). Otherworldly locations like Mount Olympus and the Underworld were breathtakingly realistic.
Now to the aforementioned "unexpected" part of the movie. Because I am writing this review from the perspective of one who enjoyed reading the series, much of my disappointment in the film is connected to the differences from the book. The producers presented a rather shortened and reimagined film that ended up only somewhat tied to the book. Sure, some of the characters are there (with the exclusion of a few that I thought were intimately connected to the enjoyment of the book), and the basic premise and goal of the movie matches the text. Of course, I understand that movies have to edit down the books on which they are based for time purposes; otherwise you get a six-hour movie that the common viewer does not have the attention span to endure (not unlike Percy Jackson).
However, I do not understand the redrawing of many of the scenes to the point of no recognition. One of the key plot points in the book was the way Percy discovered he was a son of Poseidon; in fact, much of the first half of the book was spent building up to that fact to the surprise of not only Percy, but the entire camp—Chiron included. The movie (even from the trailers) just lays that fact right out and no one seems very affected by it save Percy. In the end, I wondered if the screenwriter actually read the book; at best, I think someone he knew read The Lightning Thief when it first came out and then tried to recollect it to the screenwriter over the phone amid frequent dropped calls and other interruptions.
The movie's incongruity aside, it was still fun to watch. And my wife, who had never read the book, really enjoyed it. The movie is PG, but it seemed to be a bit much for some of our audience members under the age of eight; a couple mild vulgarities for "comic" effect seemed a little superfluous and might cause some to leave the younger ones at home. So, I definitely recommend the movie more to nonreaders, even though readers and fans of the book will enjoy it; but, like me, they might spend most of the time arguing with the movie in their heads and spend the ride home explaining what "really happened" to anyone willing (or not) to listen.
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