So today I received a gift from my husband. A gift that I am very appreciative of and that I will use until the day it dies. Yes folks, I am the proud owner of a brand new, shiny blue, small compact laptop!! My former laptop was faithful up until the day it decided to just go black on me. I thank my former laptop for its semi-reliability, and I think it would be happy to know it has been donated to science to further our knowledge of its inner workings (aka, my son is tearing it apart to see if he can make it run after a real live tech said it was beyond repair). I would like to blame the fact I haven't blogged on my dead laptop, but I don't like to talk ill of the dead (and it would be a lie anyway).
Books I have finished since my last blog:
I recently finished reading "The Forgotten Garden", by Kate Morton. Recommended to me by my sister, Ju, this book was very enjoyable. A well written combination of my favorites; mystery, touch of romance, and interwoven time periods. The author made you wait for tid bits of information from the past, making you wonder and speculate before you are given the answer to what actually happened. I was left guessing until the very end.
Prior to that I finished book#9 of the Dresden Files; "White Night" by Jim Butcher. I like to throw one of these in every once in a while. I really get into this series, but after all the magic, and killing, and vampires, and death...I need to take a break. Yes some of the actions are unbelievable and outrageous, but that's what makes it so much fun to read. And now that Harry has found a family member that he has to take into consideration, it makes things a bit more complex; he can't run into situations all gung ho and rambo-like...he has to think first, act second, which is hard for him. He also has an apprentice now and I am digging his new role as "master".
Current music adventures:
Amaryllis by Shinedown is a great follow-up to their "Sound of Madness" album. Although not as heavy, in my opinion, I think it is a very strong compilation of songs. Of course, with any album, there are some songs I don't care for and skip over without hesitation, but for the most part this album rocks. I have been a fan of Shinedown since their SOM album, and I even caught a glimpse of them at the Great NYS Fair. They are touring this summer with the Uproar Festival, coming to the Great NYS Fair this August, and my husband and I are in discussions on whether or not we are going to that event. We already have 2 concerts set for this summer, and the Uproar Festival is an all day event, which we may just be too old for. We shall see.
Oddly enough, I also borrowed the cd soundtrack to the movie "Burlesque" from the local library recently. This movie you will recall, or probably not, starred Cher and Christina Aguilera. I heard 1 song from this album (Show me how you burlesque) at a dance recital and decided to see what the rest sounded like. Unfortunately that 1 song is the ONLY song I like from the album. The rest of the tracks range from "ok" to "omg bad". The last song on the album threw me for a loop...it samples "Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson...in a burlesque song? Really? In the immortal words of Florian Bellanger, "it dinn't work for me".
Happy 4th of July!
:)
