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Undeclared (Woodlands, #1)
Undeclared (Woodlands, #1)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
3½ out of 5 stars

I received this copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This story tells the tale of Grace, who became the pen pal of a marine as an assignment while at high school. They carried on corresponding for four years before Noah, the marine, sent her a "Dear John" style letter telling her he didn't want to meet her. Grace took the letter badly, after years of pining after him, and shuts him out. Noah on the other hand wanted to get his head sorted out, after spending the last four years in Afghanistan, before meeting her. I don't want to give too much away but they do meet again.

I found the first half of the book a little slow going and it took me a while to get into it, while the second half seemed to flow easier and I found myself unable to put my kindle down as I wondered how Noah was going to get Grace to forgive him.

The characters are all likeable, especially the guys who live at Woodlands. I'm interested in reading their stories, especially Bo to see who ends up winning his heart.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It's the first New Adult book I've read that involved (ex)military personnel and like I've said before, the reason I like the genre so much is because they mix it up a little and deal with bigger issues.
  
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Morgan Spurlock recommended Scanners (1981) in Movies (curated)

 
Scanners (1981)
Scanners (1981)
1981 | Horror, Sci-Fi

"My fifth film — it’s the movie that literally got me wanting to make movies to begin with — is the David Cronenberg film Scanners. When I was a kid, I was a little weird kid, and I loved horror films, I loved gore films. When Michael Ironside made that guy’s head explode in that movie, I was like, “Whatever this is, I want to do this!” I was ten, eleven years old, and my parents would take me to see these. Like, I saw The Exorcist in movie theaters; I saw The Evil Dead in a movie theater. I went to see all this crazy, freaky s*** that you would never take a little kid to see today. But I saw Jaws in a movie theater. Like, I wanted to see all these scary movies, and my parents were like, “Absolutely. Let’s go.” And so here I was, as a teenager, learning how to make my own blood, and my own scars and wounds. I wanted to be Rick Baker or Tom Savini. When I was a kid, that’s who I looked up to. When I saw An American Werewolf in London, it was phenomenal, to see all those makeup special effects they were doing. And then when I went to high school and learned you could actually go to college to study film and learn how to make movies, I was like, “I’m in. That’s exactly what I want to do.”"

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Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane
Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane
1971 | Rock
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I can't pronounce it either! It's a fantastic record. It's got such a gorgeous mellow vibe to it. It's kind of accessible to people who aren't familiar with jazz, but it also has kind of this free, loose thing. It's not free jazz, it's definitely modal. It's got Pharoah Sanders on it. It's lush and gorgeous and kind of takes you to a different place. Sometimes Alice Coltrane plays the harp, which sounds dreamy. It's one of my go-to's in the morning at work (in Sub Pop) I just kind of put it on to get me going. I probably drive some of my co-workers crazy playing it. You know, there's not a really obvious influence in our music that comes from jazz. I know I'm influenced by it, but I'm not sure how. I don't like all jazz, but certain things I love to death. That's the problem with this list: I can't stick Charles Mingus on it, or Andrew Hill, or Ornette Coleman, or Albert Ayler. One of the things I feel lucky about, my high school friends and I who formed Mr. Epp, we would go to our little record store in our suburban town and the guys there turned us onto The New York Dolls and Ornette Coleman and Ayler and The Velvet Underground, Brian Eno. I feel really lucky to have stumbled into that, at that time."

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Lenard (726 KP) rated Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) in Movies

Sep 2, 2019 (Updated Sep 2, 2019)  
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)
2019 | Adventure, Family
Eugenio Derbez (0 more)
Backpack, backpack, backpack, backpack
In the era of reboots, legacyquels, and reimaginings, films require a balance between innovation and "the original" product. Dora and the Lost City of Gold is such an undertaking as a adaptation of a popular children's show. The filmmakers had an objective to make a feature film while not alienating fans of the original Dora the Explorer. I believe that the team (who also worked on the previous two Muppets movies) did a good job. They found ways to have Dora speak to the audience (like on her show), have Backpack and Map speak, introduce Spanish words and phrases (the point of the show), and Boots and Swiper ("Swiper, no swiping.") were integral characters, all of which would have detracted from the film if done improperly. At the same time, the writers and director had to have a story that would sustain a 90-minute movie and leave little left to, pardon the pun, explore. The search for a lost city of gold and a race between archaelogists and treasure hunters satisfied that objective, a little Young Indiana Jones adventure mixed with National Treasure. The biggest liability in the whole film was Eugenio Derbez and his slapstick comedic style never fit the tone of the film. Luckily, Michael Pena can debilitate him with a styling monologue. Now that Dora has ended her adventure in the jungle, she can study the harshest environment known to man: high school in an anthropological dissertation.
  
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A Bad Day for Sunshine
A Bad Day for Sunshine
9
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
99 of 200
Kindle
A Bad Day for Sunshine ( Sunshine Vicram book 1)
By Darynda Jones

Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee - and, now, a nationwide manhunt?

Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff, expecting nothing more than a quiet ride. But now a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter's new school, plus a kidnapped rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.

But even clouds have their silver linings. This one's got Levi, Sunshine's sexy, almost-old flame, and Quincy Cooper, a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol's normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger.

Can Sunshine face the call of duty - and find the kidnapper who's terrorising her beloved hometown - without falling head over high heels in love . . . or worse?




I’m a huge Darynda fan! I’ve read her Charlie books so many times! This was just brilliant I loved everything about! The characters the story the mystery just everything! The quotes from Del Sol police blotter were so so funny! Darynda has a way of completely sucking you in to everything she writes! Brilliant!!!