| Book Review - Marked: A House of Night Novel |
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05:20pm 30/03/2008 |
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In a world where Vampyres and Humans co-exist, the transition from human to vampyre is just another complicated teen problem. No one knows what causes the transition, but young fledglings are Marked, and then accepted into the House of Night - a school developed to train and help ease young Vampyres into their places in society.
When sixteen year old Zoey is marked by the tracker, it's just another thing to complicate her already ridiculously confusing life. Her best friends shies away from her, her family treats her like a foul curse. . . the only people who seem to accept her no matter what are her Cherokee grandmother and her almost ex-boyfriend Heath.
Of course, that doesn't sound so bad, but things can only get worse. Touched by the Goddess Nyx and blessed with a special purpose, Zoey must enter into what should be a slow transition much more quickly than her fledgling peer group. Nyx has expectations and a place and purpose for Zoey, and while Zoey wishes she could just return to her every day normal self, she soon discovers that there is no turning away from responsibility. . . that being normal is never denying who you've always been inside.
This first novel in the House of Night series is incredibly real, facing an amalgum of teen issues that are both eye opening to parents, and relative to teen girls (and boys). The heavy edge of reality is approached by the intelligent voice of a confident young girl who makes a fantastic role model for the confused teen--even if that teen's biggest problems aren't that she's becoming a vampire, but more hormonally inspired. P.C. Cast paired with her daughter Kristin Cast, has created a very real young woman in a world that rivals the every day reality faced by most teens. The problems Zoey must deal with include everything from drugs, sexuality and simply making the right choices to ensure her future is something she can be proud of.
Marked is the first book in the House of Night series, and just the beginning. Published by St Martin's Griffin, there are currently three books in the series, and a fourth to follow in fall 2008.
As a pagan parent, I was pleased to see the introduction to an alternative, Goddess-based belief system that did not bash other religions, but simply mark them as a different path and point of view. This is a great book to inspire open mindedness, spiritual growth and empowerment in individuality in young women. Non-pagan parents with an open mind, it is a very strong introduction into principles your teen would roll her eyes at if you tried to talk to her without a relative platform to start from, so I think that in itself makes this an incredibly powerful book
You can read a sample chapter online at Barnes & Noble...mood:  happy music: None |
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| What Really Matters.... |
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09:34am 27/02/2008 |
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While I was in college I had the luxury of following my passion as a writer. I was prolific, on top of work and school often putting out 5-10K words a day, but then I graduated. All the pressure of finishing college and entering into the "real world" again drained on my creativity. Throughout the spring and summer of last year I continued to pursue my writing, but it had become tainted with the demands that I find a job so I might start paying off my student loans and contributing to our family income. Eventually, a great deal of my passion for writing was temporarily flattened by the pressures of the so called 'real world'. I found a job which I thought would be the perfect solution because I could work from home and do it whenever I wanted. Unfortunately all of that pressure had finally broken me down, and while I spent more time working each day than any sane person should probably do, I was contributing to our income. I made no time to write and projects that held a great deal of promise and joy for me began to gather dust inside my little 2MB portable hard drive. Around the holidays I started to realize how much it was killing me not to cater to my life's passion. I had literally spent 2/3's of my lie pursuing writing. While my successes to that point were small, I had big goals and a drive that would see them all achieved. One by one I dust those projects off again and start working on them, but often it was with a sense of strange guilt, guilt that I should be doing something "else", something "worthwhile". I know I am not the only one who has been jaded this way, but I refuse to give up. I refuse to heed the call of "work" or "real world" no matter that the Dr. Phil voice in my head tells me that I'm being a fool. What is life if not the dreams that fuel our waking every day? What point is there to any of it all if we aren't doing what really matters? And when i say "what really matters" I am talking not about the responsible things, but the risks--following the dreams that light us up from the inside out. Isnt' that what really matters? Isn't that really living? mood:  determined music: Wendy Rule |
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| Book Review: The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials 3) |
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10:31pm 11/02/2008 |
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MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!
I finally finished the last chapter of The Amber Spyglass tonight, and the final pages brought tears to my eyes. I had my suspicions that it would end the way it did, but I didn't expect it to be such an emotional parting. The final book was my favorite in the end, pulling all of the adventure and emotion together into a powerful climax.
I was most surprised by the actions of Mrs. Coulter, who I really believed to be irredeemable up until the very last task. Completely ironic that Lyra's parents, who created her out of nothing more than the serving of their selfish lust, and who treated her as nothing more than the result of some irreversible mistake nearly all of her life, wind up being the very protection she needs in her finest hour. That took me by surprise.
I had heard a lot of protest about the inappropriateness of the books from a Christian standpoint, and while I can see where those opinions came from, the thing that surprised me the most was that very little was even mentioned about the sexual innuations that take place between the two main characters. The narrator refers to them as lovers, and while that can also simply mean two people who have fallen in love, there is much more beneath the surface and it is addressed just subtly enough that I don't think a younger reader would know the difference.
The act itself and all of the circumstance surrounding it confirmed my initial thoughts about the importance of innocence and the freedom for that innocence to make it's own discoveries without interference. Many friends I talked about the books with during my read claimed not to understand much of Lyra's character and actions, but from the start I was convinced that it was her innocence that was the most important theme in the entire series.
I was also overjoyed by the scene with the Harpies in the land of the dead, when she tried to lie her way out of the situation. As a storyteller myself, I had similar habits as a child and could relate to the scene all too well.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire series. It was perhaps one of the best books I have read in a long time, as it did not end on a disappointing note for me. I am definitely looking forward to checking out the films.mood:  contemplative music: Stewie singing to brian about his dumb girlfriend song |
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| Countdown to Season 4: Battlestar Galactica |
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11:50am 01/02/2008 |
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I won't lie. I'm getting itchy in anticipation of this fourth and final season. I've heard so many rumors of it being stretched out over the next two years, that only half the episodes have been recorded, and when the Sci Fi channel flashes their breif interludes into upcoming episodes, I can't help but wonder why it just says March, and no definitive day in March. Really, I would like to mark it on my calendar so I can countdown and celebrate like any good BSG fan.
There is so much to look forward to, now with the hints dropped in Razor and the massive cliff they left us hanging over at the end of Season Three. Finding out that those four people were Cylons seemed incredibly bizarre. They were all such activists against the Cylons, so I'm hoping there is good explanation for their behavior. I am also looking forward to the unveiling of the final cylon. Part of me thinks it has to be Roslin. It seems a logical choice when I consider her background and her unusual ascendance to the presidency. I thought Adama, but the fact that he had children seems to rule him out, unless they replicated the real Adama somehow.
I am also anxious to see where St. Gaius falls into place with things. I ruled out insanity long after Caprica 6 started seeing him the same way he was seeing her.
And what of Starbuck? She can't be a cylon. It would be too stupid, so who/what is she?
There is just too much left unspoken at this point and only the smallest promise of resolution. The tension and suspense has been building too long. March can't get here quickly enough.
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| Book Review: The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials Book 2) |
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11:01am 01/02/2008 |
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!After taking a week off from reading His Dark Materials I finally settled in last night and tore up The Subtle Knife. Overall, I enjoyed it, and the reason I did was that it broke up the narrative structure of The Golden Compass and lent story threads to three other important characters. I was originally fascinated by Serafina Pekkala and Lee Scoresby, so I was glad for them to continue on in this journey. I was also intrigued immediately by the introduction of the character Will. Here we are shown this incredibly strong character who has been through so much in his incredibly short life, and he seems the perfect addition to Lyra's journey from the very moment they meet one another. I loved how her headstrong behavior was called into question in this book, and she was shown time and again that just doing whatever she wants to do isn't always the best course of action. Will's character was necessary to teach her that little bit of restraint. The spectres were a brilliant addition, and as we got to know more about them, Will began to present the notion of spectres in his own world being a reasonable explanation for his mother's mental illness. The revealing of Stanilaus Grumman's true nature was fantastic, as I honestly did not see that coming together the way it did because I was so caught up in the action of the rest of the story. Lord Boreal's cruelty was aptly punished before the end, and I have to say I was sickened by the description of his character early on. He reminded me of one life's true monsters from the start, so for him to turn out as he was seemed fitting. My one complaint about this book was that it started out strong, but it didn't end on its own strong enough. The Golden Compass had a very powerful ending, and I expected the same from The Subtle Knife, but the end felt like a shudder more than a complete exhale. There was very little in the way of "letdown" from the high points of the story, and now I have no choice but to read on in search of that release. I do see now what much of the religious fuss ado was about, and I think that it's a beautiful story. The idea of the cycle having to start over again, for the universe to be born again is intriguing, and so on that note I am very much looking forward to the war of all wars, and whether or not Lyra will take her place at the end and beginning of all things. Where I gave the Golden Compass a 10/10, I am going to have to say the Subtle knife is only an 8.9. Not too shabby, but some of the big bang of the ending didn't trigger the emotional reaction it should have garnered. On to the Amber Spyglass... Look out for that review. mood:  anxious |
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| Review: Ghost Hunting by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson |
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09:34am 28/01/2008 |
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I finally found a copy of Ghost Hunting: True Stories of Unexplained Phenomenon from The Atlantic Paranormal Society, the new books by T.A.P.S. founders, Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. Having been a big fan of the Ghost Hunters show on Sci Fi for a couple of years now, I was overjoyed to see that the guys had put together a book documenting some of their most awesome investigations. Anyone who tried to get their hands on a copy of this book can tell you that it wasn't exactly easy to find in the beginning, but alas, I prevailed and skipped merrily home with my very own copy on Friday night. Of course I ran off to the bath as soon as I got home and read through the first fifty pages, as it was impossible to put down. It starts out with an introduction from Jason Hawes, which I found slightly surprising. It's no holds barred and incredibly honest, just like the Jason we know from the show, and yet there was something else that shone through in his words that made him seem just a little softer. He wrote from the heart in the early pages as he shared his first paranormal experiences which prompted him to seek out and eventually begin investigating paranormal activity. After taking a few pages to bring us up to date on the current T.A.P.S. crew, he dove into their early investigative history and led us behind the scenes of several investigations many have witnessed on the show. I devoured many of the investigations I hadn't seen, and as I started to recognize them I thought I might get bored, but the occasional behind the scenes tidbit not previously revealed on the show made the stories equally interesting. There is also a brief collection of photos midway through the book, some with what is believed to be evidence of the paranormal T.A.P.S. has capturued during their investigations, while the rest are photos of the team or favorite investigation points. The photographic evidence is very interesting, though I will say that being a greedy paranormal seeker, I would have loved to have seen more. Of course, I can go out to any bookstore and pick up any other book with loads of pictures of what is proclaimed to be "paranormal" evidence, but I wouldn't trust it the same way I have come to trust the evidence T.A.P.S. provides. My only other complaint about the book was that Grant's contribution overall was very small. While it was awesome taking the unexpected ride through Paranormal Alley with Mr. Hawes, I had expected to hear slightly more from Grant Wilson. Does Grant's minimal appearance detract from the overall book, yes and no. Would I recommend not reading it based on that? Absolutely not! If anything, it left a bit of a hope inside me that we'll read more from America's favorite Ghost Hunters in the future. Out of 10, I rate this book 9.7, and urge everyone with an interest in the paranormal to rush out and buy a copy for themselves today!! mood: content music: Silence |
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| Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight Cartoon Review |
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11:42am 24/01/2008 |
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Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight Cartoon Review My husband and I started dating about sixteen years ago, and one of the things we shared at the time was the Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Dragonlance Chronicles. We spent hours discussing the characters, the plot, the future potential for the series. We read the short story collections about our favorite characters, and gladly spun-off into the realm of Ravenloft with some of them as well. I won't say that our entire grand and wondrous love affair was spawned from Dragonlance, but our love of reading certainly did bond us in ways no one ever expected. Recently, an event we discussed hundreds of times over finally occurred. They first turned Dragons of Autumn Twilight into a comic book, nicely illustrated and tantalizing because shortly thereafter it was confirmed that a cartoon film was underway. The more we learned about it, the more our sighs of disappointment flooded the air. A cartoon... when we had seen the wonders created by Peter Jackson in bringin Middle-earth to life... okay, I could settle for that. There have been some pretty amazing cartoons since the Japanime revolution and the art technology discovered in the last ten years. It could be amazing, in fact, how could it not be under those circumstances? Even with Kiefer Sutherland as the voice of our beloved Raistlin... it still had the potential to be amazing... Right? So we waited... and waited... and waited some more, and then we forgot about it completely until one day Jason stopped off of at the video store and saw it's empty place on the shelf. His excitement knew no bounds, and then he rushed off the very next day to another nearby video store and swiped that copy off the shelf before anyone else caught wind of it. Meanwhile, I had googled some reviews out of sheer curiosity. What were other DL fans saying about it? Most of the reviews were negative, claiming that it was quite a bit like watching He-Man and the quality wasn't much better either. I was scared. As we sat down and started watching, the rumors one by one came true. It did look like He-Man! They did spend entirely too much time focusing on Tika's bouncy bussoms and Caramon's befuddled ogling of them. Then we just sunk in and watched it. I won't say it was the best cartoon in the world, but in truth the quality of it wasn't all that bad. The story hovered very close to the original, leaving out only a few cringeworthy details. He-Man wasn't even that bad of a cartoon, you know. I may not have spent every waking moment at the Castle Greyskull, but my brothers did, and it was probably one of the better fantasy cartoons of the time. So the fact that we read Dragonlance just around that time is almost fitting then... isn't it? It was like a trip down memory lane on more levels than one. Now why they didn't go all out with the cartoon, I guess we'll never really know. I was under the impression that R.A. Salvatore had scored bajillions of dollars for WoC, but maybe that's just not true. Maybe it'll be gain cult status over time, like the original Tolkien cartoons, and inspire some current high school kid to grow up and make the Dragonlance Chronicles into an epic sextet to rival Lord of the Rings in the year 2021. Here's hoping... mood: hopeful music: In Elven Lands |
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| The Golden Compass (book) Review |
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04:57pm 18/01/2008 |
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**** SPOILER ALERT!!!!****I finally took a couple days to sit down and read The Golden Compass to see what all the fuss was about. Yes, I know I am incredibly behind the times, but I'm here now and that is all that matters. I enjoyed Lyra's character very much, and the notion of having an animal counterpart as part of the soul was intriguing. I liked how in the adults you could tell almost everything you needed to know about who they were just by judging the final shape of their daemon. I loved how the book started out with the action straight away, opening the secret door and shedding light on the entire plot in such a way that made the book almost impossible to put down. Even the early descriptions of her adventures with Roger were fun to read. I thought calling the bad guys "Gobblers" was very clever, and then to find out that there was an even deeper reason behind the name gave me a bit of a shiver. That whole relationship she had with Mrs. Coulter was like that dizzying nausea you get after you've had too much sugar and spun madly on the merry-go-round. You want to throw up and then hide, but you're still so elated by the very idea of it all that you keep spinning until it's too late. I even had a moment where I thought it would be incredibly insane if Mrs. Coulter somehow turned out to be Lyra's mother, and then BLAM! The whole world falls apart and you find out that is exactly what Mrs. Coulter is, only you don't want it to be true. The adventure aspect of the story was amazing, and there were several "seat of the pants" moments during which I was sure Lyra was going to have her daemon severed from her for sure. However my greatest disappointment in the book was Lord Asriel's character. Yes, you get the feeling that he's not exactly the nicest guy, and I certainly wouldn't want to find out he was my father, but the whole end scene is mindboggling. Learning that Lord Asriel has the power to manifest that which he calls for was intriguing, but the scene between Mrs. Coulter and him was both disturbing and twisted. I am sure it was meant to be, but all the while I spent thinking Mrs. Coulter was the epitome of evil, only to discover that somehow it's really Lord Asriel. The name should say it all, I suppose, but Mrs. Coulter really sounds much colder and more horrid in my ears. My favorite scene was with the bears, when Iorek Byrnison challenged the crazy king to the death and then won because Iorek was more like a bear than the very bears who cast him out to begin with. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There was hardly a scene in which I found myself bored or wishing to hurry on to the next page, and now I can't wait to dive into The Subtle Knife. I will say that a lot of the "religious" issue so far has been interesting, and I am looking forward to seeing how that unfolds. I give it ***** out of ***** on the riveting fantasy story scale. And as a fan of Harry Potter, I must say that the writing is a lot tighter. mood: pensive music: Blackmore's Night |
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| How do you just "do it?" |
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02:19pm 18/01/2008 |
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When you realize that 85% of your life's issues revolve around lack of motivation, how do you motivate yourself to change? Even if it doesn't seem like something important, but you know it is, how do you pencil it into your life and follow through? I mean the pencilling part is EASY! I can plan out everything I need to do for the next two years, but how do you follow through? Do you have to link it to some form of enjoyment first? Why can't you just do it knowing the enjoyment will come later? There is a part of me sometimes that wishes my parents had sent me to some kind of crazy bootcamp so I'd learned discipline, but on the other hand, I love free will too much to just abandon it completely. Maybe I should ask Tom Cruise. He seems to have all the answers.... sorry, couldn't resist. mood:  frustrated music: Heather Dale |
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| Ghost Hunters International.... |
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10:56am 17/01/2008 |
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I was skeptical about this when I first heard that the main TAPs team wouldn't be present, just a handful of regulars with Barry from Ireland and a new teamleader, but I have to say... two episodes in and I am already blown away. The team is just as professional and thorough without Jason and Grant, which is a load off, and it seems that the history of the places they have already investigated has lent quite a bit of paranormal activity to their investigations. Generally, one of my only gripes about Ghost Hunters is the eerie sound effects they play in the background since the investigations aren't "live". It makes it hard for viewers to hear the "sounds" or whispers the investigators sometimes claim to hear. Last night, however, while the International team was investigating the Abbey of Lucedio, they were in the chapel and Briand and Donna were noting and experiencing a lot of activity. Just before the three investigators turned to each other in shock, there was an audible whisper: "Go Away!" And of course the investigators asked each other if they'd just heard something. They had all heard it too. It was the first time as a viewer that the sound effects didn't interfere with a potential experience, and it seems like they might not have even realized that it was captured on the video. Anyway, two thumbs up to TAPS overseas. Thank you SciFi for the quality interlude of entertainment while Ghost Hunters local is on hiatus until March!! mood:  full music: some bard guy |
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| eMuse Issue 2 is UP!!!!!!!!! |
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10:46pm 15/12/2007 |
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eMuse Issue #2, December 2007 is up and online, ready for your entertainment! This month features an interview with up and coming Fantasy Romance author Jacqueline Roth, as well as one of her short stories. There are a ton of fantastic reviews, some incredible short stories and deep poetry. There's a feature article on NaNoWriMo, as well as an awesome Illustration feature with our Art Editor.
Check it out!! And if you're a writer, poet or artist looking for some exposure, definitely check out our submissions guidelines!!!mood:  mischievous music: Toby Kieth-Should Have Been a Cowboy |
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| The King Arthur Project |
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11:29am 09/10/2007 |
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Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a big King Arthur nerd. I even petitioned my lead at mahalo into allowing me to build an Arthurian section figure by figure. Check out the pages I've build so far: King Arthur Guinevere Merlin Alfred Lord Tennyson Marion Zimmer Bradley I haven't even begun to put a dent in the list yet. I'm just now finishing up my Mordred page. Ah, there is nothing more satisfying in the world than getting paid to do things you love!! If anyone's interested in earning an extra buck, or just being part of a really great community, check out Mahalo Greenhouse. I know we're always looking for intelligent page builders in the Lit Vertical, and I've been tearin' up the comics section like mad lately. :) The only thing I haven't been really doing much of is writing, but it'll come back. I just got frustrated for awhile, too many rejections over one week just really deflated my hype. I have two major projects at the half-way point and I really need to get them at least finished on the first draft level. I will definitely designate some time for writing today, and get back to it. I don't want to just work all the time and not strive toward what matters to me at all, but at the same time I want to be happy just as I am without all those expectations. Anyway, back to work! Hope you're all doing well! Love mood: bouncy music: RoXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXANNE... |
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| Dreaming of Vampire Cats |
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11:58am 16/08/2007 |
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All night long my sleep was filled with crazy dreams about swarms of cats. Giant cats with litters and litters of followers. They were all black cats, and most of them looked like our Tortoise shell calico in miniature scale. We were standing on my back porch, and all these cats were living over at the neighbors fruit stand under a cardboard box. The people with me were three girls I grew up with, and though we were at my current residence, it was not my house, but belonged to my former neighbor's mother. We were all taking cats and deciding which ones we wanted to keep. I found a really great cat that I thought would be perfect, but then another one claimed me and I kept thinking, "I can't go home with two cats. That's two too many cats." All of the tiniest cats were only about the size of marshmallow peeps, and their eyes were diamond shiney. They kept showing me their teeth. Then a semi truck pulled up and stopped there, he opened the door and one by one all of the cats got into the truck but three. The one one of the girls I was with decided to keep, and two that wanted to go home with me. The truck pulled away and the phone started to ring. It was the other neighbor girl's mom. I turned to her and asked, "Have you ever thought about telling your mom off, telling her you'll come home when you're good and ready?" She started to cry because just thinking thoughts like that made her mom ground her. Then I woke up. And the first thing I discovered today was that Corey Feldman and Corey Haim are going to do a Lost Boys 2... I don't know if I should be appalled, or slightly excited, since to this day the Lost Boys is still one of my favorite films. Ah well.... I guess the reason there's nothing new under the sun is because everyone in Hollyweird can't stop rehashing the same-ole shame-ole because they just wanna get paid like they used to. NewsFlash: Coreys, the 80's are long gone, and no one can bring them back again. Not you, not my best friend Chrissie, not even a time machine. It's time to wake up. mood: savage music: James Blunt |
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| Mahalo, Check it out! |
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06:17pm 11/08/2007 |
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You know I'm always checking out the latest internet search engines and ways to make money online. Recently I was introduced to Mahalo, and have been working as a guide building pages for their web search. Now, Mahalo is offering a comparitive toolbar you can download and use in more than one way. In one way, you are helping Mahalo grow, while also comparing search results no matter which search engine you try: google, yahoo. ask.com, Chacha. One of the coolest things is that Mahalo gives you the top 7 search results right off the bat. It's free, and fun to play around with, so check it out: http://greenhouse.mahalo.com/Special:FollowDownload?id=905Let me know what you think! |
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| Start Planning for NaNo Now! |
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12:21pm 31/07/2007 |
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NaNoWriMo is a great exercise for both publishing and nonpublishing writers because it puts the pressure of a deadline over heads, and while it does seem that many creative people tend to work very well under pressure, that is not always true. Many people panic when they find themselves in a crunch, the heavy breath like fire on their necks. In these situations, instead of enjoying the challenge and the writing, panic sets in and pushes these writers further and further from their project until the deadline becomes like a looming threat of failure. Because NaNoWriMo does not allow its participants to use a piece of writing that has already been started, the notion of starting and finishing a novel length work in a month seems harrowing. There are publishing writers, such as Sherrilyn Kenyon and Laurell K Hamilton, who both claim that completing a novel script for them could take anywhere from two weeks to a month. Imagine putting out not one, but two novel length scripts during Nano, and the possibilities seem overwhelming. One easy way to get you closer to your Nano project is to start planning now. There are three months to go before NaNoWriMo kicks off, and if you go into that project with outlines, character sheets, and plot maps, all you need are the words to get you where you need to go. When breaking down the NaNo requirements, 50,000 words in 30 days, the calculations seem simple to some and overwhelming to others. If a writer could take tame out each day to work on their project, it would take 1667 words each day to equal 50,000 words in the end. Some writers goal themselves to write twice that each day on a regular basis, while others feel lucky to find the motivation to even write each day, much less to set themselves a goal. With goal setting and careful planning, reaching the 50,000 world deadline isn't as hard as it seems. Dedication and conviction will see that writers do both. While some believe there is little to gain from entering the NaNoWriMo project each November because there is no financial prize to the first one to reach the deadline, only a small gif proclaiming you a winner and the personal satisfaction and achievement that comes from sticking to your guns, even when they felt like they wouldn't fire anymore. The feeling of accomplishment then becomes enough to send you well on the way to wherever you plan for your writing to take you, be it into the world of publishing, or simply through your own fantasy. mood:  accomplished music: Chopin |
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| Has the bottom dropped out of ChaCha.com's earning potential? |
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03:39pm 27/07/2007 |
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At this time it is virtually impossible to make even the bare minimum of money ChaCha headquarters advertised when they hired many of their guides over the last year. Advertised in the beginning as a great way to earn a few extra bucks for fast food, in the last two months the changes that have been made to the system have made it near impossible to earn even enough to buy a Big Mac Extra Value Meal from McDonald's without dedicating at least ten hours of one's day. Many guides complain that even ten hours a day is not enough to earn more than a dollar. Early on, guides were faced with the challenge of distinguishing between legitimate searches and the infinite number of pranksters who infiltrated the system to repost their chats on internet forums. A number of prank users eventually found invites into the system, and the quality of the Search with A Guide experience lowered immensely as people complained not to be given the answers they sought, despite being promised a professional, online experience. Is this the reason for the slack in earning potential on as a ChaCha guide? While some say yes, others testify that the changes ChaCha headquarters has made to improve guide and seeker experience over the last two months has been detrimental to its progress. Alexa.com shows a rapid decline in visitation to the site in the last ninety days, much of which transpired during the summer vacation from schools. In my first three months as a guide I managed to earn just over $800. Not enough to live on, but great as supplemental income for a stay-at-home writer/mom. As a guide, most of my own personal searches were directly done with young students searching from poetry help, literature assistance, history and math help. Now that school is out of session for the summer in many places, the number of searches has dramatically dropped off. As a supplement, ChaCha put in place a new points mechanism for guides to earn as well by cleaning out the database and purging poor search results, recategorizing lazy searches and more, however the points have never been assigned a dollar value, so there is no earning potential there at this time. Chacha has also recently changed their methods, requiring new users to log in each time they search, so that pranks can be logged and dealt with via IP number. This feature, though only in place for a matter of days, has dropped the final few searches off the program entirely, and most guides have complained that there is nothing to be had at all. One user claimed that where he used to be able to make at least $10-15 a day, he is now lucky to see such numbers after five-six ten hour days on the program. Is this the end of ChaCha and it's once great earning potential. Have the promises of grandeur and online earning through this program stalled out short of the company's expectations? It's hard to tell. At this time, earning is near impossible, but the future may hold changes that gather faithful users once again. Will I be holding my breath for these changes? You've got to be kidding! It's on to the next online earning project, with a hope that one day the ChaCha will in fact be the best internet dance out there. mood:  indescribable music: Nature |
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| The Voice |
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02:06pm 18/07/2007 |
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I remember as a child the first time I really heard the sound of my own voice on tape. A friend of mine and I used to pretend we were disk jockeys, and we would queue up all of our favorite songs on cassette, then we would record our own ninety minute radio spot. We spent a lot of time in radio stations, so we knew how to act like DJ's, how to perfectly round out our DOUBLE HUES, and so forth. WE called our station WHAT, that's DOUBLE HUE HACH A TEE, WHAT radio, at 99.9 F.M. During the process of making the tapes we had a blast and never thought about how we sounded. Afterward, I went home and didn't think of it again until the next time we got together and he played the tape for me. Good GRIEF! is that what I really sound like? You can't be serious! That is not my voice. . . and yet, no matter how many times I denied it, or tried to pretend some alien had beamed down to impersonate me, there was no denying it. It was me. The same revelation recently came to me again while revising a piece of my writing. The original draft took me all of last summer (and then some...) to complete, and once I finished it, I realized it needed a total rehaul to get it up to standards if I really wanted to consider publication. I printed the entire thing out and tucked it neatly into a three ring binder, and then i set out to being the rewrite. At first, there was no big deal, as I started by adding a completely new scene to the beginning, which would inevitably impact the rest of the story in a way the original first chapter had not done. Pleased with this new edition and ready to move on, I opened up to the first chapter and began rereading what I had originally written. No, I shook my head. That was not my voice. Certainly not! It was too pompous, I thought, strained, too articulate where it need to be relaxed and familiar. There was no way that I had written it, but the truth in the matter was, I had. I had written so much throughout the year that when I returned to the place I started, I no longer recognized the origins. It is a little known fact that the more we write, the more we learn, the more we improve and grow into our writerly voices. As writers I think it is incredibly important to return to the past of our writing, even just to see how far we've come since then, because recognizing and hearing your own voice is a necessity as a writer. You want your readers to sit down with your novel or your short story and say, "This voice knows exactly who he or she is." And I'm not talking about your characters or your point of view. I'm talking about the voice compelling you to sit down and write, the voice that tells the story. Perhaps that voice intertwines with your characters, or is part of the point of view, but outside of that it is distinctive--it is you. Have you heard your own voice lately? mood: determined music: Brainwave Symphony--Meditate and Create |
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| Siriusly Speaking--From Book to Film |
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05:37pm 12/07/2007 |
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Like millions of other Harry Potter fans, I rushed out on opening day to see the fifth film in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." One of the most exciting parts of this story was finally getting to see Harry Potter interact on an almost regular basis with his godfather, Sirius Black. Still at large and considered by the Ministry to be one of You-Know-Who's most loyal followers, Siriius Black is confined to order Headquarters, which is none other than the Black Family manor: Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. As a fan of the novels before the films, there are always subtle differences made in the transition between book and film. In a novel as long as "Order of the Phoenix," one can not possibly expect to see everything they hoped for on the big screen, however there was one thing that I felt the director tragically misrepresented, and that was the role of Sirius Black. While much of the adult cast was sorely reduced, leaving us without even a proper introduction to Nymphadora Tonks, and scarcely a word from former Professor Remus Lupin, we were left with little more than the Weasley's as representation of the adults on Harry's side. One of my greatest complaints was how horribly they cut back on Sirius's confusion. We were given only half a moment where Molly Weasley scolded him into remembering that Harry was NOT his father, and the scene in which they are fighting side by side at the Ministry and Sirius calls out something rather like, "Well done, James!" Sirius pushed Harry so much harder in the book, calling him out on more than one occasion with phrases like, "Your father would have done..." There was also a lot less indication of Sirius's dreadful unhappiness. He was always drinking, but it seemed in good humor as he winked at Harry whenever he looked. The speech he gave Harry about how one day it would all be over and they would be a real family seemed far too mature for the Sirius Black we're shown in the book. Many of us as Sirius Black fans would have loved to see a more serious Sirius, a mature and Godfatherly Sirius who was indeed ready to take on his responsibilities as Harry's Godfather, but the facts we are presented show ush a much different man. He was thrown into Azkaban before given the chance to truly mature into male adulthood. He is socially inept and still clinging to the wild whim and adventure that relate him back to his day and time when James was still alive. He cannot sit in the same room with Severus Snape, and yet even the animosity between Sirius and Snape was curbed immensely for the film. Gary Oldman was fabulous in the role, however I would have liked to have seen a slightly more honest portrayal of the downtrodden and lonely Sirius Black. The few vague hints and lines were not enough to develop and define the wizard we're presented in the film so that he closely resembles the wizard from the novels. This is just one in a long list of confusing alterations directors make that I'm sure we will never understand. Just as in the previous film, where Barty Crouch was left alive and we were not shown the scene in which Harry, Hermione and Ron discover Snape as a former Death Eater. Is it enough to spoil a good movie? Absolutely not, but loyal fans of the books do have a harder time digesting such dramatic alterations to the stories they know by heart.
mood:  thirsty music: silencio |
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| This Weeks News from Bramble Ice |
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12:33pm 11/07/2007 |
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I have been hard at work this week to come up with a few new products, and I'm pleased to say the hard work paid off. We have added five new products to the store this week, including the long anticipated Bramble Ice Soap Bar. Now you can combine all of the products in our signature line for a unique bath and body experience.
In spirit with summer, I've been wracking my brain for items I thought would be both fun and soothing to the skin. Yesterday I made a fresh batch of lotion featuring a combination of delicious, citrus essential oils that we've named Pele's Passion It has the aromatherapeutic power to refresh and renew a tired spirit while softening summer dried skin. During my summer fun quest, I have also had a great deal of fun putting the Lime in de Coconut. I've just mixed a fresh batch of Lime in de Coconut Bath Salts and of course, there isn't a single product we make that I don't try myself. Well, let me tell you. . . it was one of the most fragrant and relaxing baths I've had since I made the Green Goddess batch.
We've also added two new incense scents to our mix: Lavenilla Dreams and Rain Orchid each smell as different as the next, both are incredibly relaxing.
So, if you haven't stopped by either of our two online locations lately:
Bramble Ice Ebay or Bramble Ice Etsy that pop on by and check out our wares. There's always something new, and of course there's something there for everyone! Hope to see you there soon.
Jenny @ Bramble Icemood: calm music: Loreena McKennit |
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llewelynmcellis's journal