This post is actually a book recommendation! I recently read Dirty Job, by Christopher Moore, and thuroughly enjoyed it. I'm making it my first book recommendation on this blog.
About Christopher Moore. His style of writing is comedic fiction. His books are literally a laugh-fest. I usually find I laugh out loud on more than half the pages throughout the entire book, and Dirty Job was no exception.
(caution: some small spoilers...)
Charlie Archer, an average guy (and a self-proclaimed Beta-Male) who owns a 2nd-hand clothing & collectibles shop, tragically loses his wife following the birth of thier 1st child. Unbeknownst to Charlie, his newborn daughter is fated to become the next "Great Death" (or Grim Reaper if you prefer), while he himself has become a "death merchant". Further complicating matters, the instruction book on how to be a death merchant is intercepted by Charlie's slacker of an employee, a high school goth-chick who thinks its the coolest book ever.
Dirty Job quickly becomes a laugh-fest inspite of the frequently recurring themes of death & greiving. So pick up this book and follow Charlie as he plunders about trying to get a grasp of his new charge that he's unaware of, and trying to raise a daughter whose pivotal destiny is likewise kept in the dark from him for the majority of this quirky yet touching story.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Heath Ledger & 10 Things I Hate About You
Heath Ledger, the actor from the movies 10 Things I Hate About You & Brokeback Mountain, passed away earlier this week. His death is an unexpected tragedy, and he will be missed. As an actor I thougth Ledger had the potential to become as popular as Tom Cruise (but not as crazy), or Russell Crowe (but not as arrogant). He seemed to have the world ahead of him...
Of the films he made in his all-too-soon ended career, 10 Things I Hate About You is my personal favorite. In this re-telling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Ledger plays the Bad-ass high school bad-boy, who's initially bribed to date the older of 2 sisters, so another boy can date the younger sister. The older sister has long since sworn to never date, and has gained a less than pleasant reputation. In Ledger's character's efforts to win her trust and take her to the prom, he finds he really does like her, and after all the typical teen drama plays out, everybody who's nice gets a happy ending.
As far as comedies go, this is always in my top 5 favorites (I also count the original Blues Bros., and The Princess Bride in the top 5). In many ways its a typical teen comedy. The things that set it apart for me are the fact that the toilet humor is very minimal, and the overall story is well developed. The sountrack is pretty good. The dialog is fast, which often makes for a good comedy, because sometimes you're laughing pretty hard at one joke, and maybe miss the next one, which means you'll catch it the 2nd time you watch the movie.
Anyway, this was the movie that broke Ledger into the big-time for films. He might not have made another comdy like this one, but his talent as an actor was hard to miss with the films he went on to make after this one.
Of the films he made in his all-too-soon ended career, 10 Things I Hate About You is my personal favorite. In this re-telling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Ledger plays the Bad-ass high school bad-boy, who's initially bribed to date the older of 2 sisters, so another boy can date the younger sister. The older sister has long since sworn to never date, and has gained a less than pleasant reputation. In Ledger's character's efforts to win her trust and take her to the prom, he finds he really does like her, and after all the typical teen drama plays out, everybody who's nice gets a happy ending.
As far as comedies go, this is always in my top 5 favorites (I also count the original Blues Bros., and The Princess Bride in the top 5). In many ways its a typical teen comedy. The things that set it apart for me are the fact that the toilet humor is very minimal, and the overall story is well developed. The sountrack is pretty good. The dialog is fast, which often makes for a good comedy, because sometimes you're laughing pretty hard at one joke, and maybe miss the next one, which means you'll catch it the 2nd time you watch the movie.
Anyway, this was the movie that broke Ledger into the big-time for films. He might not have made another comdy like this one, but his talent as an actor was hard to miss with the films he went on to make after this one.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Gene Simmons is Fired?!?!
Up until last week, Gene Simmons of Kiss has been a contestant on Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice reality TV show. Being a long-time Kiss fan, Gene was of course my somewhat biased favorite celebrity on this show. In the 1st 2 weeks he seemed to be one of the strongest business minds (leading the men's team, Hydra, to 2 consecutive victories). The Donald thought to shake things up and asked Gene (on the heels of his previous victory as project manager) if he'd like to be project manager for the women's team. Gene, being the omnipresent ladie's man (if you ask him), agreed.
As the 3rd week's competition unraveled, Gene once again appeared to be on top of things; taking swift control of the direction of the project. He continued diligently in his pre-ordained direction with limited input from the rest of the "team" (here was his mistake, he sent only 2 team members to meet with this episode's client-Kodak, and that meeting didn't go as well as team Hydra's did). Had their meeting gone more smoothly, and the client gotten thier point through to the 2 women representing the team, I bet Gene would still be among the celebs.
I work a 2nd job part-time in retail myself, so I know a good strategy to make a sale is always to let the customer know when & how they'll get more bang for their buck. In the case with the Kodak printers, the most bang for the buck came with their new ink (if the stacks of paper were to be believed, the same amount of the new ink could print more than double the amount of pages). Team Empresario's representatives from the client meeting did not convey this message to the project manager-Gene...
In the end, the client preferred the men's team's "Mobile Experience" for Kodak's new 'revolutionary' ink & printers, and the women's team, along with Gene, won another trip to the board room.
As the board room drama unfolded, Donald seemed determined to lay the fault on the overly talkative team member who gave the Kodak rep a bad impression in the initial meeting. Gene, being Gene, refused to bow to the Donald's implications & turned the blame on Kodak itself for making the "wrong decision". He repeatedly said that he trusted the team member that Donald & Kodak were witch-hunting, and vowed to stand by that person. In the end he brought the last 2 people Donald would consider firing back to the board room with him.
Gene seemed to dare Trump to fire him, and in the end he did. Did you think Donald would fire his favorite ratings-getter Omarosa? Think again, farewell Gene...
So this week's episode is no longer a must-see event for me. Too bad Trump, you almost had faithful viewer in me, until last week. At least it wans't a total loss for Gene, since he'd won the previous week's challenge as project manager, his chosen charity (pediatric AIDS) received a hefty donation.
As the 3rd week's competition unraveled, Gene once again appeared to be on top of things; taking swift control of the direction of the project. He continued diligently in his pre-ordained direction with limited input from the rest of the "team" (here was his mistake, he sent only 2 team members to meet with this episode's client-Kodak, and that meeting didn't go as well as team Hydra's did). Had their meeting gone more smoothly, and the client gotten thier point through to the 2 women representing the team, I bet Gene would still be among the celebs.
I work a 2nd job part-time in retail myself, so I know a good strategy to make a sale is always to let the customer know when & how they'll get more bang for their buck. In the case with the Kodak printers, the most bang for the buck came with their new ink (if the stacks of paper were to be believed, the same amount of the new ink could print more than double the amount of pages). Team Empresario's representatives from the client meeting did not convey this message to the project manager-Gene...
In the end, the client preferred the men's team's "Mobile Experience" for Kodak's new 'revolutionary' ink & printers, and the women's team, along with Gene, won another trip to the board room.
As the board room drama unfolded, Donald seemed determined to lay the fault on the overly talkative team member who gave the Kodak rep a bad impression in the initial meeting. Gene, being Gene, refused to bow to the Donald's implications & turned the blame on Kodak itself for making the "wrong decision". He repeatedly said that he trusted the team member that Donald & Kodak were witch-hunting, and vowed to stand by that person. In the end he brought the last 2 people Donald would consider firing back to the board room with him.
Gene seemed to dare Trump to fire him, and in the end he did. Did you think Donald would fire his favorite ratings-getter Omarosa? Think again, farewell Gene...
So this week's episode is no longer a must-see event for me. Too bad Trump, you almost had faithful viewer in me, until last week. At least it wans't a total loss for Gene, since he'd won the previous week's challenge as project manager, his chosen charity (pediatric AIDS) received a hefty donation.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Ode To Bubba-Gump
It's funny sometimes how much the little things in life can mean to you. I recently lost a little thing in my life and was surprised how down I felt about it for days. It was Bubba-Gump, the last remaining goldfish in my aquarium.
Bubba had outlived his original tank-mate, Goldie, both of whom we have had in our home since before we were married (almost 6 years ago). Bubba was the longest lived pet I've owned since my childhood dog. He had even been nick-named "The Fish That Won't Die". Bubba was older than 2 of our 3 cats in actual years, and was always there, swimming around, waiting to greet us when we came home from work (or maybe he was just waiting to be fed).
He may have lived a number of years more, if it weren't for a mysterious infection he seemed to catch after I decided to add a couple friends to his tank. As it happens, after I bought 2 more fish from a local petstore, all 3 of them soon developed a white filmy layer on their fins & scales. The 2 new fish were belly-up within days, and Bubba was looking worse for wear. I switched him to a fish bowl of fresh water and put some anti-fungal treatment in the water. In the end it was too little too late, as he succumbed to the sickness another couple days later.
Either way, the now vacant fish tank is a constant reminder of his abscence. Someday soon, I'll drain, clean & refill the tank & all it's accessories. Then I'll fill it with an all-new group of aquatic little friends. Then we'll have a happy home of pets, both dry & wet again. I know they'll not be the same as good ol' Bubba, but maybe they'll grow to mean as much to us.
Fare well Bubba Gump!
Bubba had outlived his original tank-mate, Goldie, both of whom we have had in our home since before we were married (almost 6 years ago). Bubba was the longest lived pet I've owned since my childhood dog. He had even been nick-named "The Fish That Won't Die". Bubba was older than 2 of our 3 cats in actual years, and was always there, swimming around, waiting to greet us when we came home from work (or maybe he was just waiting to be fed).
He may have lived a number of years more, if it weren't for a mysterious infection he seemed to catch after I decided to add a couple friends to his tank. As it happens, after I bought 2 more fish from a local petstore, all 3 of them soon developed a white filmy layer on their fins & scales. The 2 new fish were belly-up within days, and Bubba was looking worse for wear. I switched him to a fish bowl of fresh water and put some anti-fungal treatment in the water. In the end it was too little too late, as he succumbed to the sickness another couple days later.
Either way, the now vacant fish tank is a constant reminder of his abscence. Someday soon, I'll drain, clean & refill the tank & all it's accessories. Then I'll fill it with an all-new group of aquatic little friends. Then we'll have a happy home of pets, both dry & wet again. I know they'll not be the same as good ol' Bubba, but maybe they'll grow to mean as much to us.
Fare well Bubba Gump!
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