Best of Both Worlds!

Check it out:

http://www.sporcle.com/blog/2011/07/play-on-sporcle-win-a-kindle/

Thomas Edison: Elephant Killer

The afterward of Water For Elephants mentions an elephant execution carried out by Thomas Edison. Apparently these were common in these days when an elephant had killed 3 or more workers(or 1 rube). This particular execution, of Topsy the elephant, was filmed by Edison to show the dangers of his rival's alternating current method. This 1903 version of Faces of Death was then shown to audiences around the country.

I won't show the video of this here, but it can be easily found on youtube.com for those interested.

Harry Potter Quiz

Can you guess the Harry Potter characters who own these license plates?


http://www.sporcle.com/games/waffle_of_action/harry-potter-license-plates

Another Reason Not To See Water For Elephants

About half way through reading Water For Elephants I realized that the film was going to be very different than the book and decided I probably wouldn't go see it. In reading reviews for the film I came across something far worse than deviating from the original story. As the video below will show, the elephants used in the film were subject to animal cruelty (bull hooks and electrical shocks) in order to have them perform their tricks. I know this isn't shocking news for anyone to hear that animals don't dance and stand on their heads naturally, but you would think that in an age of CGI, movies wouldn't have to resort to these measures anymore.



PS- There are also reports that an unknown primate (probably an orangutan) was shaved, topped with a blonde wig, and forced to play the character of Marlena

South Sudan

Last year I read a very powerful book written by Dave Eggers titled, What is the What. It tells the heartbreaking story of a Sudanese Lost Boy's journey out of the civil war hell in his country to the United States. You can follow the label at the bottom of the post to read the book review.

You will notice a banner on the side of the blog that will remain for the remainder of the summer welcoming the soon to be independent South Sudan. This is a move that will hopefully bring an end to all the horrors that land has experienced.

10,000 Hits!

Last Friday our humble blog reached the milestone of 10,000 hits! It only took about 3 years to do it!

(note to self: add more posts about Harry Potter)

Pleasant Hill Library Parking Lot

I'm pretty sure the county and city are doing as much as they can to passively get people to stop going to the library. Their parking lot is a minefield of gigantic potholes. So much so that I need an army engineer to make my way out of their parking lot with out my car snapping in half. In the past six years or so I have yet to see one of these holes be fixed. Eventually, I think the P.Hill library will eventually become the world's only library that you need to zip-line into.

The Handmaid's Tale: The Movie

Really, really bad. I only got through half of part one, but the video's should link together if you want to see the whole thing. Really poorly done. Enjoy!

Water For Elephants: The Movie Trailer

July Book of the Month: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen

via goodreads.com

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

WMc's Summer Book List

Reposted from McMadness.com

I just finished a very disappointing book that was released last month--Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan.  It was touted by an author I generally enjoy as the "perfect summer read" on her blog.  I am a sucker for perfect summer reads, and I even pre-ordered the book and dug right in as soon as it arrived on my Kindle. It took me nearly a week to finish this book and I was left disappointed.  I found the characters mostly lacking positive attributes and I am still wondering about all of the loose ends the author failed to tie up.  I am annoyed that a week of summer reading was sacrificed to something so falsely advertised when I could have been spending my precious reading time with something better.

To counter my bitterness, I am posting my own summer reading list, with books that I would classify as "perfect summer reads."

Mammoth Cheese by Sheri Holoman.  Exactly what it sounds like.  Small town makes giant cheese for a cheese contest and has to transport it to be judged.  Well-written and hefty.  You will get lost in another world.  That is, unless you are a small town dairy-farmer, then it might hit a bit too close to home.

The Dirty Parts of the Bible by Sam Torode.  No, this is not Bible porn.  It's a whitty adventure story set in 1936 when 19-year-old Tobias is sent from Michigan to Texas to find a bag of money his father, a newly ousted baptist-pastor, hid many years ago as a teenager himself.  The characters are complex and fantastic in a way that cannot really be described.  I liked this book so much that I emailed the author after reading it. Bonus, it is only $2.99 for the Kindle Edition, although I would gladly pay more for it.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons by Lorna Landvick.  Women's literature at its finest.  This book completely enraptures you in its characters while touching on serious issues, spanning generations and having moments of all-out hilariousness.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith.  Voted best book of the year for 2010 by my book club, which is saying a lot because it had a lot to compete with in 2010, including the book below.  Historically accurate with some vampire, it is a great balance of intellect and straight up fluff.  And I generally dislike vampire books.

The Hunger Games series by Susan Collins.  If you have not already jumped on the bandwagon, please do. You will not regret it.  And no, it is nothing like the Twilight series which I could never understand the hype behind.  See comment above regarding my general feelings on vampire books.

Books on my summer reading list include (note, the large amount of Young Adult science fiction/adventure is due in large part to the current obsession of the genre by many of my coworkers, whom I get a lot of my book recommendations from.  Lawyers reading teenager books en masse.  We all get our brain breaks somehow.):

• Switched and the next two books in the Trylle trilogy by Amanda Hocking
• Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winslow  
• The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown
• Matched by Allie Condie
• Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner (available July 12, 2011)
• Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

Less Scandalous But Equally Exciting Harry Potter News

Something all of you Pott Heads will love.

wwww.pottermore.com

Harry Potter Admits to Being a Filthy Drunk!

via Reuters:

LONDON (Reuters) - Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe has revealed that he was so worried about his drinking that he vowed to give it up and has become teetotal.

The 21-year-old actor told GQ magazine that his life went off the rails for a time when he turned 18 and was filming "Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince."

"I became so reliant on (alcohol) to enjoy stuff," he said in an interview to be published in GQ's August edition. "There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person's lifestyle that really isn't suited to me."

Radcliffe says he was fortunate that the paparazzi never captured his worst behavior.

"I really got away with that because there were many instances when a shot like that could have been taken," he added.

Radcliffe, who says he has not touched a drop of alcohol since August last year, admitted that he would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks but that just doesn't work for him.

"I do that very unsuccessfully. I'd just rather sit at home and read, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh," he added. "There's no shame in enjoying the quiet life."

Radcliffe was just nine when he was picked to star in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series and, according to British press reports, has amassed a fortune of around 45 million pounds ($72 million)

The final Potter film, "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part II" has its premiere in London on Thursday and will hit the theatres on July 15.

Only A Few Hours Left!

http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2011/06/indie-day-giveaway-win-amazon-kindle.html

THE INDIE DAY GIVEAWAY: Win an AMAZON KINDLE featuring M.R. Mathias’ Entire Bibliography + E-Books from his Favorite Independent Authors!!!

Three Panel Book Review by Lisa Brown

See more at: http://www.sfgate.com/columns/threepanel/archive/