Ubalblog

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Getting ready for bed. ]
This book, while not genre, was amazing.

In order to pass his civics class, Ian has to do forty volunteer hours. He signs up to help at a soup kitchen where he meets Sarge, a former Canadian soldiers who is now homeless.

Through Sarge, Ian learns about the Rwandan genocide and even more about the world in general. He finds a purpose beyond his shallow, self-centered existance.

This is not a preachy book, but it had me in tears. It also made me grateful for the life I have. I plan to buy this book and use it in my classroom.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Watching Coronation Street ]
Kim Harrison has been writing the Rachel Morgan supernatural mysteries for quite some time now. Her fifth book in the series, For a Few Demons More is the latest to be read by me. And I have to say, wow!

Harrison has done an amazing job of world building. Her Cincinnati is a ghost of city, with a quarter of the world’s population killed by a mutated virus that came from genetically modified tomatoes. With the outbreak of the plague, the Interlanders (witches, vampires, werewolves and pixies) revealed themselves to the humans.

This book countinues that world building. There’s a serial killer stalking the Hollows. Their target? Humans who are mysteriously turned into werewolves. Rachel, a witch and sort of private eye, wakes up to find a demon has desanctified the church she lives in and is looking for something. So Rachel sets about to solve the serial killer case and get her church resanctified so that every bad guy isn’t tromping through her house. It is a rapid and fun filled ride.

Harrison, unlike some other Vampire Mystery writers, has no qualms moving plots along and killing off major characters. Sex does occur in the books, but it is not the main reason for writing them.

Good read. Go get this.

[  Mood: Angry ]
"Perhaps no place in any community is so totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest."
– Lady Bird Johnson

So budget time has rolled around in my city. A new mayor was elected last year on a promise of a 0% tax increase, and the citizens fell for it.

After Mike Harris and Stephen Harper, you think they’d know what that really meant.

So to keep his promise, the proposal has the city shutting ten library branches. That’s right, ten. 1 followed by a 0.

One of these branches is my local branch. It sits in a typical inner city Ottawa neighbourhood. To afford to own a house in this area, you have to be firmly in the middle class. Mixed in with these lovely single family dwellings and condos are lots and lots of rental property. Those are the people I am worried about. Many of them are my students.

Within easy walking distance of this branch are two schools with huge lower income and welfare class populations. Many of them are recent immigrants. They don’t have the money for extras like books. The library is for them a lifeline. Every time I am in there, I see a student reading, working on homework or using a computer. They walk over after school on a regular basis.

Will it affect me? Yes, but I am middle class. I have a car and can drive to another branch. Many of my students, however, are not. Their parents are not going drive them to the next branch. And our bus system is set up to take people in and out of the downtown, not across town.

And that doesn’t take into account the fact that another proposal of the budget is to raise the transit fares.

One of the interesting things about our mayor is that he is a millionaire business man. Another millionaire business man, Andrew Carnegie, spent the latter part of his life building libraries. It seems our mayor is going to spend his golden years closing them down.

Somewhere, angels are weeping.

"The only true equalisers in the world are books; the only treasure-house open to all comers is a library; the only wealth which will not decay is knowledge; the only jewel which you can carry beyond the grave is wisdom."
– J. A. Langford

[  Mood: Angry ]
[ Currently: Cause my husband has the day off in lieu of Rememberance Day ]
Lest you think this blog will devolve into a long litany of geek related pregnancy anecdotes, I bring to you a series of quick reviews!

Hot Fuzz
Finally saw this movie on the weekend and wow! Kick ass! The homage to the buddy cop genre with copious amounts of blood thrown in was wonderful. We also watched the US tour footage where the men stripped to their underwear during phone interviews. And cake flushing? Gross but hilarious!

Ruby in the Smoke
One of Philip Pullman’s early works, this Victorian thriller follows Sally Lockheart as she tries to unravel the mystery behind her father’s death. A fun read that lets you see Pullman’s writing style develop.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Blinking Eye
I love Trixie Belden. When I was 8 or 9, my stepmother introduced me to this series. For years, I have hunted second hand bookstores and garage sales looking for the books I was missing in my collection. Imagine my joy when they started republishing the stories. This one follows Trixie and the gang to New York where Trixie buys a statue in an antique store. Immediately she is followed and harassed by two scary men. Full of twists and turns, and incredibly dated language, this was a fun book.

More later.

[  Mood: Shocked ]
[  Currently: Watching Larry Lessig ]
Okay, so a huge shift in my life has occurred. One that while I am thrilled about, is still more than little scary.

What could this terror be?

I’m pregnant.

Yup, I am carrying a symbiote.

Now, this is not new news for me. Rather, I am 15 weeks along, so this is old news. But it is still a little shocking. I have a living creature inside of me. And boy, does that change how you look at the world!

Gone is the daily can of coke. Junk food? Mostly in the past. Hello to the daily nap. I have also welcomed the permanent state of exhaustion.

And my breasts would make an anime character jealous.

So life changing event here I come.

I’ll keep you informed.

[  Mood: Sick ]
So Wednesday was Supergroup night again in City of Heroes land. On this week’s agenda, a Giant Monster hunt.

While we waited for the group to arrive, we did a little trick or treating in Brickstown. I got a few more costumes.

Then we went to take on the Eochai, the giant pumpkinhead.

We found him pretty fast, and along with many others, brought him down. We were recognized by some of our fellow heroes. I guess the Strippers have some renown. Eochai fell to our blows pretty fast.

We found Eochai a few more times and killed him. Then the call came out that Jack in Irons was up. This was the one that people were waiting for. The group of heroes was huge, and we brought Jack down pretty fast.

Then we tried to take on Eochai again. This time it did not go so well. It was just us and the pumpkin had brought some friends. He had three level 50 Streng hanging around. Streng, and you can see look like the Eochai, only a little smaller.

There were also some members of the Unseelie Court floating around, also level 50. As we were all level 30s, it was a bloodbath. And every so often, the Eochai threw a flaming pumpkin that summoned up more Strang.

Three deaths later, I had accumulated 35000 in debt and we Strippers decided to let the Eochai destroy Brickstown instead of us.

[  Mood: Sick ]
[  Currently: Listening to The CD Joe sent me ]
So it was Supergroup night at City of Heroes on Wendesday. My level 32 scrapper, Bouncin’, joined her sisters from the Strippers of Paragon City in a little Trick or Treating.

The Strippers of Paragon City are mostly a bunch of clones of each other, so when we gather in groups of two or more we tend to attract a crowd. Especially when we dance. (Confession: Bouncin’ once gave a virtual lapdance to another player for a million influence. I told the Husband Unit. He was fine with it.)

At first it was just the tanker, Grindin’, and Bouncin’ knocking on doors. Later, when the blaster Bumpin’ and defender (a healer – you need one of those) Slinkin’ showed up, we pretty much farmed a door.

I found it a bit ho-hum at times. The hordes that attacked us were nothing compared to the mobs that our SG usually fights on Wednesdays. Generally, we fight mobs that generate red or purple given our size and the level of one of our regulars, controller Pearl Necklace is currently at.

The costume pieces are still dropping, so you can still earn your fifth costume slot. But they won’t let you get a sixth. I tried. So I will be selling lots of that salvage.

The attraction for the experienced gamer this year is the possibility of getting a temporary power that will let you look like your favourite Non-Player Characters. Villain groups, the cops or others. I managed to collect some costumes, enough that I also got my first costume collector badge. My fave costume was the Carnival of Shadows one, as it makes my bum look cute. (Not exactly as pictured.)

After about an hour I was bored and called it a night. Next week, on Halloween, it’s Giant Monster time. I have already killed Eochai with Bouncin’, but I’m not sure if I got the badge.

I am really after Jack in Irons. I was too low a level last year to go for him. This year, he is going down!!!!!

[  Mood: Angry ]
[  Currently: Watching Project Runway : Canada ]
So I had this beautiful City of Heroes blog entry with witty comments and pictures. But apparently I took too long and the site logged my out, and all my work went poof!

Going off to bed to sulk now.

[  Mood: Sick ]
[  Currently: Watching Colbert Report ]
Read through this while waiting for a medical appointment. Nice follow up to the first book. Once again, lovely illustrations and a story that moves along quickly.

This time the siblings are battling goblins who are stealing animals for their teeth. Yes, their teeth. Apparently they aren’t born with any teeth so they use bits of glass, stone and the teeth of animals to build dentures. Tell grandma to hide the dentures!

When brother Simon goes looking for his missing kitty (Not the kitty, you goblin bastards!), he is taken by the goblins So Jared and Mallory go looking for him. And hilarity ensues.

Spoiler alert: They don’t find the cat, but they do rescue a kitten.

[  Mood: Scared ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast – Organic Shreddies type cereal with a banana ]
So I was skimming through the coupon envelop that arrives at my door on a fairly regular basis when I came across an ad for a fine Thomas Kinkade Clock

Okay, maybe fine is pushing it. This thing is fugly. I know it appeals to the same people who would buy the Pillsbury Doughboy Clock

But I have to ask myself, "Why is Grandma spending your inheritance on pieces of crap?"

I also had to ask myself if there was a special level of hell reserved for Mr. Kinkade and his fellow tchotchke creators? And how many of his children’s souls did Mr. Kinkade sell for his fame? Cause you know that most of those pieces of highly decorated plastic and cheap metals are going to end up in a dump somewhere once grandma goes to the home.

I look at the stuff and think, it’s pretty, in a schmaltzy Touched by an Angel kind of way, but would I pay $179.99 (Plus $19.99 in S&H) in four easy installments of $44.99 for it.

The answer to that my friends is no.