Rachel Caine is an author whose books I thoroughly enjoy. The Weather Warden series - Good humor, interesting world, and nifty take on Jinn.
I totally yoinked this from her page: community.livejournal.com/nanonov/ because, dang, it is so true [especially #9; though 4 & 5 hold a lot of truth too]. :)

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Underworld Prequel to Trace Rise of the Lycans
Critics sharpen teeth, claws.
by Jeff Giles | October 26, 2007

Last year's Underworld: Evolution was given an old-fashioned reaming by critics when it reached theaters -- but between box office and rental receipts, it's grossed over $100 million, so it comes as no surprise that we'll soon be treated to ( Read more... )

Okay, since when is Catwoman with Halle Berry a classic ( Read more... )

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Symptom Recital
Dorothy Parker

I do not like my state of mind;
I'm bitter, querulous, unkind.
I hate my legs, I hate my hands,
I do not yearn for lovelier lands.
I dread the dawn's recurrent light;
I hate to go to bed at night.
I snoot at simple, earnest folk.
I cannot take the gentlest joke.
I find no peace in paint or type.
My world is but a lot ( Read more... )

I love this series of books. Retelling of Fairy Tales, Victorian/Edwardian settings, strong female protagonists. If you havent' read these and you like Mercedes Lackey's writing, any of the above, or non-high-fantasy fiction, I'd suggest you try one. The Fire Rose kicks off the series but it was written long before the others and isn't really a ( Read more... )

woo & hoo

Your home is a Athletic Wizard's Hideout
Your kitchen is manned by a team of Keebler Drow Elves. There's a pantry loaded with enough alcohol to survive another Prohibition -- which you do tend to worry about. Get help, man. Your master bedroom is decorated to look like the treetop village of the Galadhrim. Your study has every ( Read more... )

Aretino, Pietro (1492-1556)

"Now I'm oiled.  Keep me from the rats."

Pietro Aretino was an Italian satirist who was known as the "Scourge of Princes" for his bitingly witty attacks on the aristocracy.  When his good friend, the painter Titian, came to him with a problem, Aretino was quick to offer assistance.  The Duke of Urbino had commissioned ( Read more... )

I got stung by a wasp on Saturday.

That doesn't make me giggle.

What makes me giggle is:
I've been looking up treatments for wasp stings because I still itch and have developed a rash about an inch+ away from the original sting point AND my fingernail & fingertip ITCH with a distracting itchiness AND the finger next to the finger stung itches. Uh, ( Read more... )

Fields, W.C. (1880-1946)
"God damn the whole friggin' world and everyone in it but you, Carlotta."
W. C. Fields was a vaudeville comedian who became a big star in movies like Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. Fields, who drank heavier in real life than in his movies--allegedly up to 2 quarts of martinis each day, developed cirrhosis as well as ( Read more... )