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Grave Mercy
Grave Mercy
Robin LaFevers | 2012 | Children
8
9.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
*I received this copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I'd had this on my "to read" shelf on here for a while and then removed it, thinking that since I very rarely read historical books that I might not enjoy it after all.

What a load of rubbish that was!

The synopsis made me think it would be like the <i>Throne of Glass</i> series and in a way it was; assassin, a bit of romance, but it was also not. This was based on true events and there was a lot of different things happening in relation to the duchy.

I have to admit that the first 10-15% was a bit hard for me to get into. There wasn't too much detail about her time at the abbey and as much as I was interested in what she was learning there that bit started to bore me after a while.

It was only with the arrival of Duval and the sparks they ignited that I really started to get into this. I could tell straight away that something was going to happen there and since I'm a romance reader I was happy that there was the possibility of romance. It was nice reading the slow progression of their relationship as it changed.

As for everyone else; Anne, Isabeau, Beast etc. I grew to really like them. They all added great things to the story.

In relationship to Beast, I would really like to know what happened to him, and I'm hoping I will find the answers to that in the next book in the series.

If you like stories of assassins and romance then you'll more than likely like this.
  
Chubby Checker&#039;s Greatest Hits by Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker's Greatest Hits by Chubby Checker
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"One of the first records I ever bought was Chubby Checker's 'Twistin Round The World'. He was a cultural phenomenon because the twist in those early days was a really big thing. He had an afternoon TV show every day called where he would show people how to do the twist. All it was was a green screen in those days and him doing all that stuff. I studied him, like anything else. Ernest Evans was his real name, and Kal Mann wrote those records, but the irony is that 'The Twist' was not originally recorded by Chubby Checker. It was recorded by Hank Ballard And The Midnighters, that was the original and he sounds just like Chubby. Chubby changed his name from Ernest Evans to Chubby Checker after Dick Clark's wife says, 'He reminds me of a young Fats Domino'. Fats, Chubby. Checker, Domino. Again, 'Twistin Round The World', with the globe behind it and everything, it showed me that this was a global phenomenon. That told me something. That's when I started to be aware that there are songs, then there are artists, and then there is the informational gathering of how you tell people how big you are, how famous you are. I remember later on that I saw an advertisement for Sabbath in Rolling Stone, and the ad said: 'Black Sabbath: Louder Than Led Zeppelin', I thought that was genius. It didn't say it was better, just louder. Chubby Checker had so many hits. Obviously 'The Twist', 'Let's Twist Again', 'Pony Time', 'The Fly', 'Limbo Rock', lots of stuff! He must have had 20 hits. Great music isn't just songs; it's also a social tool, like a favourite song that people used to get married or something like that."

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Ace Ventura - When Nature Calls (1995)
Ace Ventura - When Nature Calls (1995)
1995 | Comedy

"All right. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll pick something completely weird and ridiculous for the very reason that I just said, and that would be Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, specifically for the scene in which Jim Carrey births himself from the anus of a fake rhino, because it is one of the single most genius pieces of comedic writing that will never be given its due because it’s part of a ridiculous, vaguely racist, silly comedy. The setup for that whole sequence is incredible from the point you see him. He’s inside this rhino, which he’s using as a sort of eavesdropping device, and it’s so meticulously done. There’s a fan inside because it’s hot. The fan breaks, so he has to undress. All to get to this point where he literally squeezes his way out of the behind of this rhino in front of a family of tourists who just effectively see a rhino giving birth to a screaming, naked human being. The industry involved in setting that joke up, the way that it just creeps up on you, like you’ll think, “Oh, it’s funny because he’s inside a rhino. It’s funny because it’s hot. It’s funny because he’s taking off his underwear.” And then suddenly, you realize, “Oh, wait a minute, this was a long game they were playing here. This is a buildup.” And it snuck up on you. And suddenly he starts to, as only he can, emerge from the back of this rhino, and then this family pulls up, and it’s just brilliant. I think that sequence should be celebrated in no uncertain terms because it is just a genius piece of comedy executed with the extraordinary aplomb that that man is capable of displaying."

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40x40

Tom Chaplin recommended Achtung Baby by U2 in Music (curated)

 
Achtung Baby by U2
Achtung Baby by U2
1991 | Alternative

"I was never that big a U2 fan actually! The others, especially Dominic [Scott] who left before we got a record deal, were massive fans. He was a great guitarist - I think Keane would be a really different animal had Dominic stayed with us, he’s a brilliant guitarist. He basically just played a bit like The Edge meets Jonny Greenwood. And the others would harp on about U2, I was a bit younger and I was still into the Beatles and Queen, but Achtung Baby, of all of their records, is my favourite. It’s quite exposed, I suppose. I think that The Edge was getting divorced when they wrote that record and a lot of the songs were trying to make sense of that mess. But my favourite U2 song is 'Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses' and it’s really weird because that has the best middle eight that has ever been written - it might even be like 32 bars long! It’s a total heart-stopping moment, it’s vintage U2, it drops down with Bono doing his posturing, rock star thing, and then it builds and builds and launches into that great chorus. It’s classic U2, all quite pretentious. One of my problems with U2 is that it can sometimes smack of bad school poetry from time to time! I remember someone saying to me, “Oh that line about playing Jesus to the lepers in your head was the greatest line every written in a pop song!”. That’s the fucking lamest line I’ve ever heard! We met Steve Lillywhite when we signed our record deal, he produced that song, and we were saying, "Tell us about 'Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses'", and he was like, “Oh, I’ve got nothing but bad memories about that song! We couldn’t ever get it to work!”"

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Start With This
Start With This
Books, Education
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Podcast Rating
Start with this is a podcast by the creators of ‘Welcome to Nightvale, Jeffery Cranor & Joseph Fink. Each episode is on a chosen topic to help with either writing stories or recording podcasts. Each episode is split into two parts; in part one the hosts talk about the subject, giving the listener information how the subject would work and then, in the second half they set out two tasks, the first takes the form of reading material or audio which uses the episodes subject and then the second task is use the subject in a short piece of written/audio work. The listeners can then post their work on the Start With This site (www.nightvalepresents.com/startwiththis) although this is a patron page with a $5 moth charge to use. As well as the web site there is a Facebook page.
As the hosts write record and produce ‘Welcome to Nightvale’ as well as other shows they have experience in the subject matter and use that experience in the show. You can also tell that they are used to working together as the show flows well as they talk.
I have only recently found this podcast and only listen to a few episodes but I have found it entertaining and useful. Each episode is only about half an hour long so the listener is not bogged down with too much information and all the assignments seem easy enough (if you choose to do them) but the show doesn’t get tied up with the listener taking part meaning it is ok and useful if you only want to listen to the show. I use Stitcher to listen to podcasts and all the back episodes are still currently available
  
A Tigers Treasure (Tiger Protectors #2)
A Tigers Treasure (Tiger Protectors #2)
Terry Bolryder | 2020 | Paranormal, Romance
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
140 of 200
Kindle
A Tiger’s Treasure ( Tiger protectors 2)
By Terry Bolryder

 
This sexy tiger detective is about to get a clue...

Carter Cunningham is all work and no play. As a rare tiger shifter working undercover as a detective, he has a lot of people to protect and no time to think about something like finding a mate. Even though he can't afford to get distracted, his tiger can't help but take notice when he's assigned a sexy new partner, one with curves that kill and dangerous secrets that make the protective tiger in him sit up and growl.

Amy Cassidy doesn't have time for workplace romance, but tell that to her body, which thinks that tall, dark and handsome Carter Cunningham is the hottest thing she's ever seen. She needs to be working on solving the most important case of her life, but every time she looks into Carter's serious, stunning green eyes, she gets completely distracted. And when she finds herself in danger, she'll realize that there's no one better than a tiger to have on your side.

As close quarters force Carter and Amy closer together during a dangerous case, what starts as a heated fling soon comes to mean much more. But with both of them keeping secrets, and Amy's past quickly threatening to catch up, is there any hope for a happily ever after?


There's always hope for an happily ever after!


Another of Terry Bolryder’s books her stories are quite short but her world building goes over all her different series’s. This is the second in the Tiger protectors and it links in more with the dragons and we learn a bit more about how the tigers came to be! Also we get to see another of the 3 brothers mates. A decent read for those that love shifter books.