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Lighthouses have long been the symbol of salvation, warning sailors away from dangerous rocks and shallow waters. Along the Great Lakes, America’s inland seas, lighthouses played a vital role in the growth of the nation. They shepherded settlers traveling by water to places that had no roads. These beacons of light required constant tending even in remote and often dangerous places. Brave men and women battled the elements and loneliness to keep the lights shining. Their sacrifice kept goods and immigrants moving. Seven romances set between 1883 and 1911 bring hope to these lonely keepers and love to weary hearts. The Last Memory by Kathleen Rouser 1899—Mackinac Point Lighthouse Natalie Brooks loses her past to amnesia, and Cal Waterson, the lighthouse keeper who rescues her, didn’t bargain on risking his heart—when her past might change everything.
My Thoughts: This is a collection of short stories "novellas" about lighthouses and their keepers. The authors have given a precise account of the lives that these people led while helping to save the lives of others. The hardships they faced, loneliness, living in a remote area and dealing with the aftermath of shipwrecks.
The stories will draw the reader in and will fall in love with the heroines in the stories. I think of all the stories my favorites were Rose and Natalie. Rose being strong and independent, Natalie has a wonderful outlook on life after losing her memory. The reader will love all the women in the stories, these are the two that I identified with the most.
Living on a small island has given me a love for the lighthouse, and I have visited many on the Eastern Shore. That's one of the reasons I enjoyed these stories and the characters in them. Whenever you visit a lighthouse you try to envision the people that were once living there, this book gives us a wonderful look into some of those lives.
The readers will also learn how important the lighthouse is to people and the ships. It is fascinating to learn the working day of the lighthouse keepers. It was pleasant reading that the writers did make sure that the word of God was written into the stories. God is our lighthouse and we must always remember to look toward the light.
I think that everyone will enjoy this novella.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
My Thoughts: This is a collection of short stories "novellas" about lighthouses and their keepers. The authors have given a precise account of the lives that these people led while helping to save the lives of others. The hardships they faced, loneliness, living in a remote area and dealing with the aftermath of shipwrecks.
The stories will draw the reader in and will fall in love with the heroines in the stories. I think of all the stories my favorites were Rose and Natalie. Rose being strong and independent, Natalie has a wonderful outlook on life after losing her memory. The reader will love all the women in the stories, these are the two that I identified with the most.
Living on a small island has given me a love for the lighthouse, and I have visited many on the Eastern Shore. That's one of the reasons I enjoyed these stories and the characters in them. Whenever you visit a lighthouse you try to envision the people that were once living there, this book gives us a wonderful look into some of those lives.
The readers will also learn how important the lighthouse is to people and the ships. It is fascinating to learn the working day of the lighthouse keepers. It was pleasant reading that the writers did make sure that the word of God was written into the stories. God is our lighthouse and we must always remember to look toward the light.
I think that everyone will enjoy this novella.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Wolf Who Rules (Elfhome, #2) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
What a tease! To come SO close to dealing with polyamory, then skip back!
I guess it's just been too long since I read <i>Tinker</i>, but I don't really remember any hints of polyamory there at all. In this book, though, it's made very clear that elven society has found monogamy to be an unreasonable model for people who normally live thousands of years. Anybody who hasn't read Tinker shouldn't read this review, because there are spoilers for that book - but hey, that's to be expected in the review for a sequel. Just knowing that certain characters live and marry is a spoiler!
Anyway, Tinker may be an elf now, but she was raised as a human, and apparently the half-elven quasi-nursemaid Tooloo who has always been part of her life either doesn't know about the difference in societal expectations, or never saw fit to mention it. That isn't so surprising, as Tooloo is depicted as several tacos short of a combo plate. But why, when some of the elves (especially Stormsong) are shown to be familiar with human culture, haven't any of them anticipated this as a source of trouble in Tinker and Wolf's marriage? Why doesn't anybody ever just sit down and say, "Look, honey, the rulers only choose guards with whom they get along well, and with opposite-sex guards, that can mean getting along with sexually. Your new husband has had sex with all of his female bodyguards in the past, and it's expected that you'll eventually take your own male Sekasha as lovers, too. Deal." (I'm not even starting on how very heteronormative everything is. You're telling me there's all that lucious pretty and thousands of years in which to experiment, and nobody ever crosses those streams, so to speak? Yeah, right.) There's a perfect opening for such a speech in the book, a point when the need for it is made very, very obvious--but I suppose having it all out in the open would remove a source of conflict.
Why are so many authors so bloody timid about laying things out like that, about showing healthy communication between people? Yes, we can imagine the most amazing advances in technology, and societies very different from our current ones, but by Goddess we must continue to show people screwing up their relationships in exactly the same way as in Shakespeare's day or nobody could relate to them!
I guess it's just been too long since I read <i>Tinker</i>, but I don't really remember any hints of polyamory there at all. In this book, though, it's made very clear that elven society has found monogamy to be an unreasonable model for people who normally live thousands of years. Anybody who hasn't read Tinker shouldn't read this review, because there are spoilers for that book - but hey, that's to be expected in the review for a sequel. Just knowing that certain characters live and marry is a spoiler!
Anyway, Tinker may be an elf now, but she was raised as a human, and apparently the half-elven quasi-nursemaid Tooloo who has always been part of her life either doesn't know about the difference in societal expectations, or never saw fit to mention it. That isn't so surprising, as Tooloo is depicted as several tacos short of a combo plate. But why, when some of the elves (especially Stormsong) are shown to be familiar with human culture, haven't any of them anticipated this as a source of trouble in Tinker and Wolf's marriage? Why doesn't anybody ever just sit down and say, "Look, honey, the rulers only choose guards with whom they get along well, and with opposite-sex guards, that can mean getting along with sexually. Your new husband has had sex with all of his female bodyguards in the past, and it's expected that you'll eventually take your own male Sekasha as lovers, too. Deal." (I'm not even starting on how very heteronormative everything is. You're telling me there's all that lucious pretty and thousands of years in which to experiment, and nobody ever crosses those streams, so to speak? Yeah, right.) There's a perfect opening for such a speech in the book, a point when the need for it is made very, very obvious--but I suppose having it all out in the open would remove a source of conflict.
Why are so many authors so bloody timid about laying things out like that, about showing healthy communication between people? Yes, we can imagine the most amazing advances in technology, and societies very different from our current ones, but by Goddess we must continue to show people screwing up their relationships in exactly the same way as in Shakespeare's day or nobody could relate to them!
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated New Jack City (1991) in Movies
Mar 21, 2018
Good Movie
Released in 1991, New Jack City takes place in the late 80's with the perfect vibe to boot. A time during which Kangol hats and "gold ropes" were in and rap needed a hard bass beat to be considered car system-worthy. New Jack is a solid groove of a film that remains timeless even to this day.
While a handful of spots were farfetched, I appreciate the grit and realness of the film as a whole. It's an open awareness into the crack epidemic and how badly it damaged black communities. It's hard watching people destroy the lives of those in their community knowing full well their lives gave them little choice to do much else. In one of my favorite scenes, antagonist Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) is having a meaningful conversation with an older man. At the heart of the conversation, they talk about how black people haven't gotten far from a societal progression standpoint since Martin Luther King Jr. died. No matter which side of the argument you're on, both had strong points that made you think.
The lead roles were consistently strong throughout. Chris Rock excelled in his role as Pookie, a crackhead trying to get his life together. You come to sympathize with his character hoping for a happy ending, but knowing the fate he is destined for. And you can't mention lead roles without giving Wesley Snipes his proper due as Nino Brown. Nino is smooth, a speaker for the people. His presence oozes with power in the criminal circuit yet the law sees him as just another delinquent. I give Rock the nod, but Snipes is a very close second.
Ice-T plays the role of Appleton, a cop hired to take a bite out of the crack epidemic by taking out one of its largest suppliers: Nino. The film as a whole is not without its faults as it lacks cohesiveness in certain spots. While the main actors are outstanding, the supporting roles are ghastly at best. I could definitely have done without Keisha (Vanessa Williams). If I heard "Rockabye baby" one more time, I'm pretty sure I would have lost it.
Not a classic for me, but still a consistent watch. I give New Jack City a 75.
While a handful of spots were farfetched, I appreciate the grit and realness of the film as a whole. It's an open awareness into the crack epidemic and how badly it damaged black communities. It's hard watching people destroy the lives of those in their community knowing full well their lives gave them little choice to do much else. In one of my favorite scenes, antagonist Nino Brown (Wesley Snipes) is having a meaningful conversation with an older man. At the heart of the conversation, they talk about how black people haven't gotten far from a societal progression standpoint since Martin Luther King Jr. died. No matter which side of the argument you're on, both had strong points that made you think.
The lead roles were consistently strong throughout. Chris Rock excelled in his role as Pookie, a crackhead trying to get his life together. You come to sympathize with his character hoping for a happy ending, but knowing the fate he is destined for. And you can't mention lead roles without giving Wesley Snipes his proper due as Nino Brown. Nino is smooth, a speaker for the people. His presence oozes with power in the criminal circuit yet the law sees him as just another delinquent. I give Rock the nod, but Snipes is a very close second.
Ice-T plays the role of Appleton, a cop hired to take a bite out of the crack epidemic by taking out one of its largest suppliers: Nino. The film as a whole is not without its faults as it lacks cohesiveness in certain spots. While the main actors are outstanding, the supporting roles are ghastly at best. I could definitely have done without Keisha (Vanessa Williams). If I heard "Rockabye baby" one more time, I'm pretty sure I would have lost it.
Not a classic for me, but still a consistent watch. I give New Jack City a 75.
PTL: The Rise and Fall of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Evangelical Empire
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Uncommon Dubai: People, Place, Narrative
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Uncommon nurtures variety of expression through close collaboration with the editors-at-large, via a...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Hungry Hungry Hippos in Tabletop Games
Jul 1, 2020
I’m reviewing Hungy Hungry Hippos? Really? Who hasn’t played Hungy Hungry Hippos?! Well, my 3-year-old son, for one. And my 8-month-old daughter for two. So this one goes out to all the young’ns and those who have never had the chance to actually play this game.
Ok so let me explain this game in great detail so that anyone may grab this and get playing. Setup the hippos around the board/disc/pool area. Fill up the marble wells with marbles (food for the hangry hippos). Choose a hippo to jockey. You are now setup.
So there aren’t really turns as everyone is playing simultaneously and marbles are going to be bouncing all over the board once launched into play. Your goal: eat as many marbles as you can until the marbles are all gone. Then count up your haul to determine the winner. Like, that’s it.
Components. Actually, the components in this one are really really good. I mean, you press a lever on the hippo’s butt (the tail maybe?) and it extends the head piece, comically, toward the center of the arena to gobble up delicious marble chow. The version we have all stores neatly together and fits in the box (YAY!) very well. I have zero complaints about the components. Well, okay, one complaint – but it’s NOT the game’s fault… is it? The marbles are wee and are definitely a choking hazard. So please please please be careful around children or dumb pets who may want to chomp them.
Though I have written this review in jest thus far as a game reviewer, the real reason I am putting this out there is because my son, age 3, absolutely loves this game. So much that I oftentimes am not allowed to actually press my hippo-butt-lever so that he may get all the marbles for himself. But, he’s having fun with board games and with his family. If that’s not the point of why people play games – to have fun and bond with people – then I do not know why people play games. This is a silly one, yes, but you have to have a few of these in your collection to just be crazy with the kids. So if you see it on the shelf, looking lonely, please pick up a copy. Your young ones will love it. I promise.
Ok so let me explain this game in great detail so that anyone may grab this and get playing. Setup the hippos around the board/disc/pool area. Fill up the marble wells with marbles (food for the hangry hippos). Choose a hippo to jockey. You are now setup.
So there aren’t really turns as everyone is playing simultaneously and marbles are going to be bouncing all over the board once launched into play. Your goal: eat as many marbles as you can until the marbles are all gone. Then count up your haul to determine the winner. Like, that’s it.
Components. Actually, the components in this one are really really good. I mean, you press a lever on the hippo’s butt (the tail maybe?) and it extends the head piece, comically, toward the center of the arena to gobble up delicious marble chow. The version we have all stores neatly together and fits in the box (YAY!) very well. I have zero complaints about the components. Well, okay, one complaint – but it’s NOT the game’s fault… is it? The marbles are wee and are definitely a choking hazard. So please please please be careful around children or dumb pets who may want to chomp them.
Though I have written this review in jest thus far as a game reviewer, the real reason I am putting this out there is because my son, age 3, absolutely loves this game. So much that I oftentimes am not allowed to actually press my hippo-butt-lever so that he may get all the marbles for himself. But, he’s having fun with board games and with his family. If that’s not the point of why people play games – to have fun and bond with people – then I do not know why people play games. This is a silly one, yes, but you have to have a few of these in your collection to just be crazy with the kids. So if you see it on the shelf, looking lonely, please pick up a copy. Your young ones will love it. I promise.
Laetitia Sadier recommended Club de Esquina by Milton Nascimento in Music (curated)
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated The King's Men (All for the Game, #3) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
4.5 stars
This one picks up a few days after the second book with Neil a battered mess and on his way to the Foxhole Court for training. He has some explaining to do to his team mates about where he disappeared to over Christmas and about the state he's in. Add in the tension that's sparked between Neil and Andrew and the budding friendship between the rest of the group and this is a roller coaster.
Everything was now out in the open and the shit had hit the fan, pitting Neil against his abusive father, and I was honestly waiting for Andrew to come kicking the door down to rescue him. (I'll let you read it to figure out if that actually happened) It was some crazy stuff but God, I was hooked. I'm just glad that nobody I'm come to care about in this series died in this one. Good riddance to the evil ones though.
I haven't been this invested in a series or bunch of characters in a long time. I was literally bouncing in my seat when the final match between the Foxes and the Ravens began, thinking "Come on, guys, you can do it!" and what a ride it was! I actually had to put it on hold while i went to work at 98% and couldn't stop thinking about it on my half hour walk, waiting for when i could finish those last few pages. It was killing me! Luckily I had a little time before I started and binged it and wow! I wish that there had been a separate little epilogue with just Andrew and Neil to see them now that the threat had gone. (I totally understand why people have written fanfic about this series!)
Every single one of the characters grew in one way or another as people, thanks to Neil's urging - okay, maybe not Andrew as such, he's still a little psychotic at times - and I feel like most other people who've read this book that i may have to reread it once a year or so just to relive this amazing series. Yes, it is dark in places but you can't help caring for this team of friends and urging them to come out of the other end after their crappy upbringings.
This one picks up a few days after the second book with Neil a battered mess and on his way to the Foxhole Court for training. He has some explaining to do to his team mates about where he disappeared to over Christmas and about the state he's in. Add in the tension that's sparked between Neil and Andrew and the budding friendship between the rest of the group and this is a roller coaster.
Everything was now out in the open and the shit had hit the fan, pitting Neil against his abusive father, and I was honestly waiting for Andrew to come kicking the door down to rescue him. (I'll let you read it to figure out if that actually happened) It was some crazy stuff but God, I was hooked. I'm just glad that nobody I'm come to care about in this series died in this one. Good riddance to the evil ones though.
I haven't been this invested in a series or bunch of characters in a long time. I was literally bouncing in my seat when the final match between the Foxes and the Ravens began, thinking "Come on, guys, you can do it!" and what a ride it was! I actually had to put it on hold while i went to work at 98% and couldn't stop thinking about it on my half hour walk, waiting for when i could finish those last few pages. It was killing me! Luckily I had a little time before I started and binged it and wow! I wish that there had been a separate little epilogue with just Andrew and Neil to see them now that the threat had gone. (I totally understand why people have written fanfic about this series!)
Every single one of the characters grew in one way or another as people, thanks to Neil's urging - okay, maybe not Andrew as such, he's still a little psychotic at times - and I feel like most other people who've read this book that i may have to reread it once a year or so just to relive this amazing series. Yes, it is dark in places but you can't help caring for this team of friends and urging them to come out of the other end after their crappy upbringings.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated More Than Just a Pretty Face in Books
Jan 12, 2021
*I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This is the first book I've read where the main characters are Muslims. It's a good insight into the religion and the various ways people follow it.
So this starts with Danyal. He's not the best in school, but, as quite a few people point out, he's got a pretty face. It's not that he's stupid or anything. He just has other interests in life such as cooking, which he is very good at and wants to become a chef. His father doesn't agree with his career choice and they have several tense conversations. His mother, on the other hand, cannot wait to marry him off to someone who would be good for the family.
I've just struggled to write the above description without giving too much away about this story.
I did enjoy this. Danyal, as I mentioned above, may not be the brightest guy but I really grew to like him. He was quick witted and passionate about what he cared about. His Renaissance Man speech showed that perfectly. History was far from his favourite subject but the Bengal famine became something he wanted to let people know about and he did it in a way that didn't judge so much as inform. Very well thought out.
I also quite liked the romance. It was a very slow burn. They spent quite a lot of time together but mostly as friends. The more time they spent together, laughing, studying and cooking, the more the feelings grew and I was willing them to get together properly, family be damned. It took a long time, though, with other factors getting in the way.
This book was a great insight for those of us who aren't Muslim into what the religion is like and the broad range of ways you can follow it. Sohrab was very invested in the religion, Intezar wasn't following it that much, if at all, and Danyal was like a happy medium.
This was enjoyable but, for me, it was a little too focused on the history and Churchill for the Renaissance Man challenge. I know it was a big part of the plot but History for me, like Danyal, bores me. I wanted more of the romance.
This is the first book I've read where the main characters are Muslims. It's a good insight into the religion and the various ways people follow it.
So this starts with Danyal. He's not the best in school, but, as quite a few people point out, he's got a pretty face. It's not that he's stupid or anything. He just has other interests in life such as cooking, which he is very good at and wants to become a chef. His father doesn't agree with his career choice and they have several tense conversations. His mother, on the other hand, cannot wait to marry him off to someone who would be good for the family.
I've just struggled to write the above description without giving too much away about this story.
I did enjoy this. Danyal, as I mentioned above, may not be the brightest guy but I really grew to like him. He was quick witted and passionate about what he cared about. His Renaissance Man speech showed that perfectly. History was far from his favourite subject but the Bengal famine became something he wanted to let people know about and he did it in a way that didn't judge so much as inform. Very well thought out.
I also quite liked the romance. It was a very slow burn. They spent quite a lot of time together but mostly as friends. The more time they spent together, laughing, studying and cooking, the more the feelings grew and I was willing them to get together properly, family be damned. It took a long time, though, with other factors getting in the way.
This book was a great insight for those of us who aren't Muslim into what the religion is like and the broad range of ways you can follow it. Sohrab was very invested in the religion, Intezar wasn't following it that much, if at all, and Danyal was like a happy medium.
This was enjoyable but, for me, it was a little too focused on the history and Churchill for the Renaissance Man challenge. I know it was a big part of the plot but History for me, like Danyal, bores me. I wanted more of the romance.
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) in Movies
Sep 10, 2019
Contains spoilers, click to show
A shooting star passes over a small American town, when a couple of teens go to investigate they find a big top circus tent that is not from this planet. When the occupants of the tent, a group of extra-terrestrial clowns (or Klowns if you will) start running amok and killing people it’s up to a group of young adults to stop them.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a goofy B movie from the late 1980’s that really doesn’t take itself too seriously. The effects are actually quite good for a film with such a low budget (Only $2 million) with the Klown costumes being just creepy enough not to come across as being too ridiculous, which takes some doing being as the Klowns are busy cocooning people in candy floss and shooting them with popcorn.
As with most B movies (and a lot of mainstream movies) the plot is quite simple, the Klowns have landed and are killing people and storing them as food and this goes in the films favour. If the plot was overly complicated, then it would not fit the feel of the effects.
Killer Klowns is one of those cult movies that has a few really good stand out scenes. My personal favourite being the encounter between the midget Klown and the biker gang. It also has memorable villains. Clowns as villains are quite common, but these are Klowns with alien technology and an interesting weakness. As the Klowns are alien they don’t speak English but this doesn’t mean they are mute, in fact they have a very creative way of bridging the language barrier and it is good see that the film doesn’t fall back on the old ‘communicator’ trope. It does fall back on other tropes though, we have the old isolated figure as the first victim, making it hard to prove that anyone has died, we have the young cop who is trying to make his way but coming into conflict with the older cop. The older cop doesn’t like the kids, he thinks they are just out to cause trouble. All this is ok though as it fits the low budget flow of the film and makes Killer Klowns feel as a cross between ‘Invasion of the body snatchers’ and ‘night of the living dead’.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a goofy B movie from the late 1980’s that really doesn’t take itself too seriously. The effects are actually quite good for a film with such a low budget (Only $2 million) with the Klown costumes being just creepy enough not to come across as being too ridiculous, which takes some doing being as the Klowns are busy cocooning people in candy floss and shooting them with popcorn.
As with most B movies (and a lot of mainstream movies) the plot is quite simple, the Klowns have landed and are killing people and storing them as food and this goes in the films favour. If the plot was overly complicated, then it would not fit the feel of the effects.
Killer Klowns is one of those cult movies that has a few really good stand out scenes. My personal favourite being the encounter between the midget Klown and the biker gang. It also has memorable villains. Clowns as villains are quite common, but these are Klowns with alien technology and an interesting weakness. As the Klowns are alien they don’t speak English but this doesn’t mean they are mute, in fact they have a very creative way of bridging the language barrier and it is good see that the film doesn’t fall back on the old ‘communicator’ trope. It does fall back on other tropes though, we have the old isolated figure as the first victim, making it hard to prove that anyone has died, we have the young cop who is trying to make his way but coming into conflict with the older cop. The older cop doesn’t like the kids, he thinks they are just out to cause trouble. All this is ok though as it fits the low budget flow of the film and makes Killer Klowns feel as a cross between ‘Invasion of the body snatchers’ and ‘night of the living dead’.