Friendship can be difficult no matter how old you are, and Shannon knows this truth all too well. Her best friend since kindergarten, Adrienne, has joined the popular group at school and Shannon isn't quite sure how she fits with these new girls. She likes the leader, Jen, but all of the girls in the group constantly compete for Jen's attention. One girl in particular tells Jen lies about Shannon, which frequently causes problems and rifts. As the girls get older, and end up in different classes at school, Shannon finally leaves the group for some laid back, like-minded, older girls, which works out great and really expands Shannon's world. Now Shannon's the leader of the group, and she's got to decide what kind of leader she wants to be. This is a very absorbing, lively memoir of the author's childhood, and it drives home the importance of perspective, which Hale discusses in the author's note. After I finished reading Real Friends, and thought about Hale's note, I thought it would be very interesting to hear about some of the events in the book from the point of view of Adrienne, Wendy, Jenny or the girl hiding in the bushes. We all experience life through a special lens, and it was a pleasure to experience this story told as only Shannon Hale could tell it (with the help of LeUyen Pham's art). Fans of Hale's many other books, such as the Princess Academy or Ever After High series, will enjoy this glimpse into the author's early life, but you don't have to have read any of Hale's books to appreciate Real Friends.

Drama. Action. Violence. Suspenseful. Heartbreaking. Awesome Cast. Memorable Characters. Nice Soundtrack. Memorable Scenes. 

 

Four women trapped in a world filled with life's everyday problems decides that desperate times calls for desperate measures. Good girls, gone bad. The movie is exciting with a touch of romance and a touch of humor. Tense moments.  Too much violence and too many gun battles for me, but, all in all a very good movie. Strong ending.  Kimberly Elise and Blair Underwood are awesome in their introductory roles. Queen Latifah, Jada Pickett and Vivica A. Fox are naturals. 

This is a gratifyingly gross exposé on excrement and other secretions utilized by humans throughout history. The reasons for it were, and are, varied: to cure disease, whiten one's teeth, alleviate pain, create fine jewelry or even flavor one's morning coffee. Maybe it came from a boar, a bug or the behind portion of a beaver. Perhaps it was harvested from the intestines of a sperm whale. Or it's quite possible it came out of your own body. This is foul stuff we'd never consider eating, drinking or smearing onto ourselves today...or...gasp...do we already do it without realizing it? Each chapter of this enlightening book focuses on a different fluid, waste product or other excretion and tells the story of when it was used, by whom, and why. There are also plenty of text boxes and sidebars elaborating on engrossing (no pun intended) topics such as: the interesting appearance of various types of animal and bird waste, how whale secretions are used in perfume, and even the illustrious career path of the professional pooper. My personal favorite was when I'd reach the end of each chapter - I'd find a hilarious new poop joke to add to my repertoire! Great item to leave on your coffee table for guests to peruse, or maybe tuck a copy into that magazine rack in your bathroom. Informative and funny!

A new kid moves in and meets some boys. They go to play baseball in “the Sandlot”. The voy borrows his stepdads signed baseball and it gets hit into the house next door to the sandlot. There is a dog in the yard which prevents them from easily getting the ball back. I enjoyed watching this movie again. I first watched it with my son.

Action-packed. Thriller. Suspenseful. Fast-paced. Violent. Great Soundtrack. Adventure.

Steven Seagal has always been one of my favorite actors. He always have you on the edge of your seat with his martial arts moves. DMX and Micheal Jai White are awesome. Tom Arnold's character was very funny and entertaining. The film has a good plot.  There was lots of drugs, violence and corruption.  It was well balanced with a mixture action and thriller. This was a very good action film.

Drama. Action-packed. Great Cast. Fast-paced. Violent. Thriller.

This movie was filled with action. The late DMX, Jet Li and Gabrielle Union are among the great cast for this film.  The martial arts action was unstoppable and exciting. The plot was good as rival criminals came together to fight a greater evil. There is lots of violence and foul language..however, the movie was fast-paced and fun to watch.  Some lines actually have you laughing out loud. I believe this is a sequel to Exit Wounds (DMX and Steven Segal).  I enjoyed watching this movie.

Comedy. Drama. Funny. Strong Acting. Funny Characters. Strong Language. Great Music SoundTrack. For Mature Audiences.

This movie was very entertaining. Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac worked well together in this film. Bernie Mac is always a comical guy, but, Samuel L. Jackson proved that he could be just as funny. Besides for the adult language through out the film ...this movie was hilarious. The soundtrack was awesome. This movie is definitely not for sensitive ears and eyes.

After one of his friends die he relives the summer when he was 12 yrs old and him and his friend go in search of a dead boys body near where they live. It tells oftheir journey and the bonds they made. A good movie I enjoyed it.

I never thought much about addresses, other than that we need them to receive mail or to make our way to a destination without getting lost.  That is, until I read this book.

It turns out, an address is more than a street name or number.  To paraphrase the subtitle:  street addresses reveal identity, race, wealth and power.  The author also stresses from the get go: street addresses were created to find you. Also, street names and numbers are not fixed or set in stone. Streets are constantly being renamed for a variety of reasons, not just in the USA, but world wide.

The book is packed with information.  Here are some takeaways:

Odd and even numbered streets originated in Philadelphia.

Over 70% of the inhabited world is addressless.

While citizens of the slums of Kolkata agitate to obtain a street address, US citizens of the Southern persuasion opt not to have a proper street address due to their aversion to census takers and the IRS.

Third world countries desperately need street addresses as a defense against epidemics.  Street mapping has been proven to curtail epidemics such as a cholera outbreak in Haiti.

There is so much more. I learned a lot.  I recommend this informative and witty book.

 

A true to life movie showing the day to day challenges and joys of working in a library. The story centers around a Librarian who confronts tradition to help those in crisis. It is definitely a confersation piece! 

Words on Bathroom Walls is about a boy who is diagnosed with schizophrenia and feels alone during his last year of high school until he meets a girl at his new school that changes everything for him. This was a great movie that focuses on mental health and does a great job on it. While this movie is a coming of age movie, it's also knowing you're not alone and everyone has their own situation going on. I'd recommend watching this movie and I believe there should be more movies focusing on mental health to show how common it is.

was a good movie. A man's brother dies and he needs to go back to a town he left after his children died in a fire. Thers's a  lot of sadness but also bonding of nephew and uncle.an ok movie for me. Was a little too sad,

This nonfiction book is part memoir, part biography of a famous scientist, part murder mystery whodunnit, part history of science and, in the end, all about taxonomy.  It is also beautifully illustrated.

Taxonomy?  I was puzzled.  I had a vague recollection of the word, so I looked it up.  Remember high school biology?  The teachers crammed it down our throats.  Taxonomy is about classifying or organizing all living things.  There were seven categories:  species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom.  I remember counting my fingers to keep them straight.  The system seemed iron clad to me.

Lulu Miller, the daughter of a scientist, struggled with self confidence and loss during adolescence.  She became enamored with a long-dead scientist by the name of David Starr Jordan, (1851 -1931) who categorized nearly one fifth of all fishes known in his day.  He faced numerous setbacks in his liffe and always persevered, climbing to greater heights. Lulu saw him as an inspiration and began to research his life.

Come to find out, he was not a good guy  And yet, he helped to found Stanford University,  Statues and busts honoring him are numerous, schools in the San Francisco area are named for him.  There's also a mountain peak named after him.  However, just as time has discredited the works of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud, it has done so with the "science" of taxonomy. Here's one small spoiler alert: emerging social engineers of Nazi Germany admired his views on sterilization of physical and mental "defectives" This eminent individual was one dark dude.  This is an amazing read on so may levels.  I highly recommend it.

Comedy. Family Movie. Funny Characters. Great Actors. Fun To Watch.

The third installment in the series.  This film series is great for a weekend sleepover (Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers and Little Fockers).  The Fockers welcome a set of twins to the family. The whole family is together for the twins 5th birthday celebration...and what a celebration it is. Lots of laughs. The children are charming and very funny. Owen Wilson is back adding more fun and adventure. Dustin Hoffman,  Barbara Streisand,  Robert DeNiro,, and Ben Stiller continues to keep you laughing as they had in the previous film. Some of the scenes do remind you of scenses from the other two films (the constant spying from Jack and the clumsiness of Greg}. I think the whole family would enjoy watching this triology.

Comedy. Romance. Hilarious. More Funny Characters. Memorable Characters.

Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) and Jack Byrnes (Robert Deniro) are back and funnier than ever. Now that Greg is finally in with Pam's parents..it's time to meet the Fockers.   New characters are added The Fockers (Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman) completely opposite from the Byrnes  Lots of comical clashing with the parents and one big secret surprise.  If you enjoyed  "Meet The Parents"...you will enjoy this sequel as well.  

Comedy. Romance. Funny Characters. Family. Great Actors.

Ben Stiller (Greg) and Robert De Niro(Jack) are hilarious in this Rom-com.  Greg is trying to win the approval of  (Jack) his soon to be father-in-law, but, that's easier said then done. The visit to the girlfriend's (Teri Polo)  home proves to be nightmarish and unforgettable.  The characters are so funny and enjoyable even down to the toliet flushing cat.  Besides for the sex jokes and the drug use  I think the movie is ok for children 13 and over.

Comedy. Fast-Paced. Action-filled. Fun To Watch. Mild Violence. Adult Language.

Eddie Murphy teams back up with his old partners Judge Reinhold and John Ashton for another fast paced adventure. Alex Foley  is back and just as entertaining and charming as he was in the first Beverly Hills Cop.  I like it a little better than the first.  It has more action. The comedy was tone down a little, but, it was still good because that who Eddie Murphy is. The storyline was good, The film is worth a watch. You won't be disappointed.
 

Comedy. Hilarious. Action-Packed. Funny Characters. Nice Soundtrack. Great Acting. Fun To Watch.

Eddie Murphy can do no wrong in my book.  I'm just a fan of all of his movies and this one was no different. He just so much fun to watch...his facial expressions gets me everytime.  The comedy lines are funny and the movie is filled with action.  The musical soundtrack was enjoyable. The storyline was good and all of the supporting actors were awesome as well. This movie is very entertaining.   Beverly Hills Cop II is next on my list.

 

Pendt Harland is the Cinderella of a generation ship in this saccharine sci-romance. The first half of the book Chronicles Pendt's life as the least favored child in a large family that operates a space-faring cargo ship that travels at sub-light speeds across a decaying empire. From ages 5 through 17 we follow Pendt as she contends with a ruthlessly pragmatic family that only keeps her fed the minimum amount of calories per day and considers her worthless due to her lack of lightning magic, until the age of 18 when they ominously tell her that she will become very valuable to them through selling her to another family for an undisclosed purpose. This first half of the book has captivating world building and strong writing that has you rooting for Pendt. The second half of the book is a stark tonal shift and sharp decline in quality, as Pendt meets her princes charming. From this point onwards, every mystery is quickly answered without tension, every conflict is immediately resolved without difficulty, and every character becomes flat, without flaws, and difficult to differentiate. That the book began so strongly makes this latter half feel particularly disappointing as Pendt receives everything she could ever want and more without having to fight for it. Everyone universally loves Pendt, understands her on a deep level, and wants to support her, except for her biological family. Pendt succeeds at everything new she attempts without difficulty despite having been abused as an uneducated child laborer for 17 years, for which she seems to have come out relatively unscathed in terms of trauma or difficulty in adapting to the life of a princess. Perhaps this book will be pleasant escapism for some, but it is unlikely to be relatable to most. Pendt's primary love interest is heavily implied, but never explicitly stated, to be a transgender man. While the book cover depicts a woman of color, every character is described as having either very pale or mildly tanned skin, and the topic of race is never brought up.

From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran the Tennessee Children's Home Society, an illegal and corrupt adoption agency in Memphis.

More than 5,000 "orphans" were involved in Tann's fraudalent and lucrative career in baby trafficking.  Many were not orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of desperate single mothers, poor families and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died.  In a few cases, small children were actually kidnapped outside of their homes.

Authorities, from the state's governor to the mayor of Memphis, looked the other way. Tann did not operate in a vacuum.  She employed a network of doctors, nurses, social workers, guards and attendants.  Although the book doesn't say it, one has to suspect that there were kickbacks involved. 

Authors, Christie and Wingate, present 15 case histories of adoptees who learned of their murky origins and went on to reconnect with siblings and cousins they never knew existed.  The stories are in turns horrifying and heartwarming.  I higly recommend this book.