Evan's teacher said "Nigger"

W

hat would you do if your child came home and told you that?

I only ask because Evan's English class is studying "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. I just googled it and the word "Nigger" is said 48 times in the book.

Whatever.

The point is the teacher says "Nigger" or "N-Word". (I'm really not clear on which she says because Evan always says "N-Word" and I got tired of trying to understand that particular technicality of the story.) Then everyone in the class turns to look at Evan because he's the only black kid in the class.

Now, my personal opinion is that it's literature. If she's saying "N-word" when she means "Nigger" and every single person in the class school is reading (or has read) TKAM and the word nigger then WTF? It's stupid. Not to mention that this IS the south and "Nigger" is still used by some white people whether they are trying to offend or just referring to a black person and some black people use it as a term of endearment towards each other - a subject for another post when I'm PMSing or something...

Anyway, the point is that all these 15/16 year olds here have heard "Nigger" before. Or "Nigga", because they ALL listen to rap music. I hear it when they're blasting their radio in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

Have I mentioned that I can't stand Political Correctness BULLSHIT? If you mean "Nigger", say it. See what happens. ;-p

Anyway, if the teacher is saying "Nigger" when discussing the book, it still doesn't bother me because she's talking about the book.

I asked Evan what he thought.

He basically said he didn't care if she said "N-word" or "Nigger" because she's talking about the book. He just wishes everyone would stop turning to look at him when she says it.

Evan - It's like they expect me to get up and start cussing the teacher out or something.
Me - Do you want me to go to the school & talk to the principal or the teacher about it? Or do you want to switch English classes?
Evan - No. I don't think I'd like the other teacher, and they're reading the same book and I'd still be the only black kid in there.

So...

If the only thing bothering him is everyone else's reaction to hearing "Nigger" or "N-word" then he'll just have to deal, right?

I was usually the only black kid in all of my classes until 7th grade when I started being bussed from my neighborhood to "the black neighborhood". I honestly never paid attention to it until I was 15 & moved here (to the south) and realized that racism was still alive and flourishing. I found this out when the first white boy I liked down here told me (basically) "I don't like you in that way, but my black best friend does." I thought "Oh, so it's not OK for me to like a white boy here?"

*sigh*

I don't know what I should do.

If anything.

Some shit you just have to learn to deal with.

If, on the other hand, it bothered Evan, I'd be there in a hot second to get the teacher fired for being racially insensitive or whatever the fuck. I might even get some money if I sued.

I could end up on Larry King!

OMG.

I should totally sue.

;-p

What do you think?

Just to be clear, I'm NOT asking if you think I should sue. I'm asking what, if anything, you would do were you in my situation.

Audition by Barbara Walters

I

just started this book. I don't normally like non-fiction and I've never been interested in autobiographies, but this book is a page turner!

If you haven't read it yet, you should definitely check it out. I'm only at her college years and I could barely put it down to write this post.

It definitely gives me a new perspective to the woman I've seen on TV ever since I could remember. Such an interesting life!

That's all, I have to go read more. :-)

Artemis Fowl Book Reviews

A

s requested, here is more information about the first 2 Artemis Fowl Books.

Artemis Fowl is, in the first book, a 12 year old criminal mastermind. He comes from a long line of criminals. His father, Artemis Fowl I, had tried to go legit about 2 years prior to when the first book is taking place. He had gone missing in Russia and Artemis' mother, Angeline, goes insane with grief.

This leaves Artemis with 1) the desire/need to keep building the family fortune and 2) plenty of unsupervised time to indulge in his criminal undertakings.

Artemis is taken care of by his bodyguard/friend Butler.

In the first book, he becomes obsessed with Fairies, and their alleged gold. He has Butler hunt down a disgraced/disowned fairy and gets her drunk (alcohol is toxic to fairies) and takes pictures of "The Fairy Bible" which tells how they get their magic, how they heal, and that they have a huge stockpile of gold in case one of the fairies is taken hostage.

So Artemis kidnaps Holly Short, the first female officer in the LEPrecon Police Force and negotiates her return in exchange for 1 ton of gold.

During the hostage negotiations, the Fairies stop time around Fowl Manor and threaten to kill everything living within Fowl Manor with the use of a Bio Bomb (or something, I don't remember what it's called.)

Artemis is sure that he can break the supposedly unbreakable Time Lock and get out of Fowl Manor before the LEP can kill him with the Bio Bomb.

He does, obviously, or there wouldn't be a second book.

In the second book, The Arctic Incident, Artemis receives a ransom request for his father who has been presumed dead by everyone except Artemis. He resolves to get his father back without losing any of his hard won money.

At the same time that Artemis asks for help from Holly Short (the fairy he kidnapped in the first book) in getting his father back, the LEP is under attack by the fairy who was embarrassed and demoted to Private in the first book.

So he, Captain Short, Butler (the bodyguard) and Commander Root (Holly's superior in the LEP) are the only ones who can save the LEP from attack before they go get Artemis Fowl I.

I like the books because there are entertaining characters like:

• Butler, who is a bodyguard with SAS level markmanship and awesome martial arts skills


• Foaly, a sarcastic and genius Centaur.


• Mulch, a criminal Dwarf who can eat tunnels through dirt and farts out the excess air.

I like the way that Colfer weaves lore into the stories by taking words we all know (like leprechaun) and using it as Lower Earth People recon Force (LEPrecon). I like the fact that the different creatures that all live under the earth to avoid detection by humans (known as Mud People in the books).

The books are quick reads. If I didn't have to do things like check my e-mail or vacuum I could probably finish them in a couple of hours each. They are definitely page turners.

Even if they are written for kids.

:-)

Just so ya know

I

read about 30 pages of Judge & Jury, but then I went to Wal-Mart today & got Odd Hours by Dean Koontz so I'll be reading that first! :-)

Ok, since they said this about the book on Koontz's official website, I can break it to you. Odd used to be "haunted" by the ghost of Elvis Presley. At the end of "Brother Odd", Elvis finally moved on and Frank Sinatra's ghost shows up. I'll be interested to see what kind of character Sinatra is.

Wheeeeeeeeee! I might be up all night. ON PURPOSE! :-)

Also, I went to Dean Koontz's website and he has an entire Odd Thomas section with youtube.com videos of an internet series called "Odd Passenger".

It looked like Gary Oldman was the ghost in that clip. I have no idea. What do you think?

You can see webisodes 2-4 at youtube.com.

Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4

Judge & Jury

I

started reading this last night (Sunday, May 18). I'm only 30 pages in, so I'll just quote what it says on the book jacket:

THE JUDGE IS TERRIFIED OF THE DEFENDANT.
The case quickly becomes the new Trial of the Century. Mafia don Dominic Cavello, known as the Electrician, is linked to hundreds of gruesome, unspeakable crimes. Senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante has been tracking him for years. He knows Cavello's power reaches far beyond the courtroom, but the FBI's evidence against the ruthless killer is iron-clad. Conviction is a sure thing.

SO IS THE JURY.
As the jury is about to reach a verdict, the Electrician makes one devastating move that no one could have predicted. The entire nation is reeling, and Andie's world is shattered. For her, the hunt for the Electrician becomes personal, and she and Pellisante come together in an unbreakable bond: they will exact justice-at any cost.

THE VERDICT: RUN FOR YOUR LIFE.
James Patterson spins an all-out heart-pounding legal thriller that pits two people against the most vicious and powerful mobster since John Gotti. Judge & Jury is a stunning feat by "one of America's most influential authors" (New York Times).

When I went to the library, I got books that didn't look or sound familiar to me. But when I went to Amazon to get the photo, it said I already own this book...

I'll find out when I get more into it, and it all starts seeming familiar. But I've looked on all my book cases downstairs and I don't see it. It could be upstairs, but I really don't want to know bad enough to climb the stairs, LOL.

Whatevah.

TTYL!

I finished "Darkest Evening of the Year"

I

liked it a lot. Not as much as I like the Odd Thomas books, but I read it pretty much straight through since I started reading it. Other than opening tabs on which Evan would drop my Entrecard, I haven't even been on the PC.

It was very interesting. As I said the other day, a woman named Amy Redwing owned a Golden Retriever Rescue Shelter.

I also told you about the psycho pyromaniac beeyatch.

What I didn't tell you about was Amy's BF. His name is Brian and he's an architect. He is connected to the psycho beeyatch.

I really don't want to get into the book, because I want you to read it. If, like Cardiogirl, you're not so much into the "supernatural" type of stuff, this might not be your cup of tea. But if you are willing to "suspend disbelief" and just go with the story, I think it will really make you happy when it's all said and done.

The bad people get what's coming to them, and so do the good people.

I'm thinking about convincing MD that it's time for her to get another dog. A Golden Retriever. And Evan, *wink wink*, will want to name the dog Nickie. ;-)

You can see what Dean Koontz has to say about the book HERE.

Smooches!

The Darkest Evening of the Year

I

am currently reading "The Darkest Evening of the Year" by Dean Koontz.

I'm on Chapter 13 right now.

It's about a woman, Amy Redwing, who founded an organization to rescue abandoned & endangered Golden Retrievers. It starts out with her driving in the middle of the night to rescue a dog from a man who is abusive to his family and has already killed one dog.

The dog is named Nickie. The first time her BF sees her, Nickie is surrounded with a golden "halo" of light.

When Amy gets home, the 2 Goldens that she already has (Fred & Ethel) act differently towards Nickie than they do to other strays that Amy brings home. No butt sniffing. But Ethel does keep bringing Nickie toys until Nickie finds one that she likes. Amy notices that all the lights in the house are on when she had only left one on.

Also, there's some crazy pyromaniac beeyatch who has to have sex in total darkness and then burn stuff and/or people afterwards with her boy toy.

Here's an excerpt from what About.com said about the book:

"No one is surprised when Amy risks her life to save Nickie, nor when she takes the female golden into her home. The bond between Amy and Nickie is immediate and uncanny. Even her two other goldens, Fred and Ethel, recognize Nickie as special, a natural alpha. But the instant joy Nickie brings is shadowed by a series of eerie incidents. An ominous stranger. A mysterious home invasion.

And the unmistakable sense that someone is watching Amy's every move and that, whoever it is, he's not alone."

So far, it's very interesting. I can't wait to find out why Nickie is such a special dog and what the hell that pyromaniac chick is up to! :-)

I finished "You've Been Warned"

I

didn't like it. Even while I was reading it, I didn't like it. But I cannot leave a book unfinished once I start reading it.

Kristin Burns is a 20 something nanny with aspirations of being a photographer. She works for the wealthy Turnbull family in Manhattan,NY. She loves the 2 children to bits, but she hates their step-mother. She calls her "The Pencil". She's also having an affair with Mr. Turnbull.

She starts having a recurring nightmare about events at a particular hotel. She screams so loud that her neighbors hear & complain to management. She also starts seeing dead people. Strangers know her name & keep giving her warnings. A detective considers her a "person of interest" in the incident at the hotel. She's being followed by a man with a ponytail.

Blah blah.

It might be that I hated the fact that some stupid twit was having an affair with a married man. I have serious moral "issues" with that. I hated the fact that she honestly believes that he'll leave his wife for her. I hated the fact that she sees his violent temper and ignores it. I did not like this girl at all. I did not like the fact that she kept referring to a past incident at that hotel but not providing details. (When we finally find out what the incident was, it really had nothing to do with the story that was going on in the present. It was an unnecessary plot 'twist'.)

I did not like the ending, although I was glad the stupid book was finally over.

I think I figured out how the whole "2 Authors writing one book" thing worked. James Patterson started it, realized it was a piece of shit, and gave it to Howard Roughan to finish.

The best thing about "You've Been Warned" is the title. Don't bother reading it.

You've Been Warned

S

ince finishing "Brother Odd", I've been reading "You've Been Warned" by James Patterson & Howard Roughan. I really don't understand how this 2 authors on one book thing works (especially if it's fiction), but I'm about one third of the way through it (5/15 4:11 am), and it just feels like a Patterson book.

I can't put it down.

The only reason I'm up right now instead of sleeping is that I had been writing another Scheduled Post & my computer was acting "special" so I restarted it, but read for about 4 hours until I decided finally remembered that I hadn't finished the post. I needed to finish it while I was still in the same "writing mood".

I tell you, I'm so scatterbrained that half the time I don't even know what I'm saying.

:-)

Whatever.

Image via WikipediaAfter Evan's on the school bus (or Cheese Wagon, as he calls it) and I pass out, I'll probably finish the book today.

Earlier today I washed dishes, cleaned the bathroom, did some laundry by myself and actually cooked dinner. Just Tuna Helper, but it involved me being in the kitchen with a burner on and the use of a measuring cup. So it counts!

I did all of this without the benefit of a "Head Shot" or caffeine. I don't know why that is...

One useful thing that I have discovered, though, is that I can read & watch the DVR crap I record at the same time. I just read through the commercials.

I'll talk about TV on a different post, though.

I have to get back to my book.

Angelika. Out.

I finished "Brother Odd" by Dean Koontz.

I realized that I love Odd Thomas as much as I can love a fictional character. He's funny, droll, earnest. He reminds me of how I think Kevin Numerick would be IRL (if I ever met him). Except maybe without the droll, LOL. I don't know. It's hard to perceive sarcasm on Kevin's blog.

I remember when I read the first "Odd" book, there was a point where Odd (he always narrates the books) said something like 'Your imagination is not as twisted as mine.' and I instantly thought "You don't know how twisted my imagination is!" and the very next sentence was something like 'I'm not saying that your imagination isn't very twisted, I'm sure it would horrify a lot of people, etc'. It cracked me up.

That's why I love this character so much. He makes me laugh at the most unexpected moments.

Anyway, in the last book, "Forever Odd", Odd's fiancé died. So this book started with him living in a monastery. He'd been there for about 7 months. He felt guilty that he couldn't save her or more of the people in the last book, so he needed some spiritual rejuvenation.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that Odd sees earthbound spirits (people who had lived, and then hadn't "moved on") and bodachs (entities that had never lived, but appeared whenever bad things were about to happen). He is also "haunted" by the ghost of Elvis Presley. None of the ghosts can speak, so he has to has to communicate with them through charades. (That's the best way to put it.) Elvis always appears in something that he's worn in one of his movies, and he always seems to want to make Odd smile. I don't know who Elvis was IRL (duh), but I like the Elvis in this book.

Anyway, the monastery is, in addition to being a home for Monks & Nuns, a home for "special needs" children. Only 3 people at the monastery know about Odd's abilities. Everyone seems to like Odd, except for one of the monks, Brother Romanovich. He is suspicious of Odd & his reasons for being at the monastery. Odd is even more suspicious of Brother Romanovich. They have strange conversations where Odd tries to try to trip up the monk. Romanovich was Russian born, but claimed have lived in Indiana as a librarian before he came to the monastery. Odd keeps asking him about specific streets or buildings or festivals in Indiana & Romanovich keeps trying to figure out who Odd Thomas is.

One of the people who does know about Odd's abilities is Brother Salvatore (called "Knuckles" by Odd because pre-monk, Salvatore was muscle for the mob).

Shortly before the books begins, one of the monks had committed suicide. No one had a clue that the monk had been depressed or that anything was wrong with him.

One day, Odd sees 3 bodachs surrounding some of the children. He knows something bad is going to happen and he has to try to find out what and when as soon as possible if he's going to save the children and everyone else. He believes that Romanovich has something to do with it.

A blizzard is in the forecast, phones no longer work, and more bodachs keep showing up...

This was a quick read for me. I loved it so much, I was sad to have it end. But at least I can look forward to reading "Odd Hours" when it comes out on May 20! :-)

The next book I'll be reading

A

fter finishing Double Cross by James Patterson, will be Brother Odd by Dean Koontz.

I've read the other books in the series, Odd Thomas and Forever Odd. I didn't even know about Brother Odd before we went to the library on Thursday.

I like reading books that are in a series. It's like seeing a good friend and catching up on what's been happening in their life since the last time you saw each other, nodamene?

Thomas is a 20 something fry cook and seems to have no ambition to change that. What's "odd" about him is that he sees dead people. He sees the good and the bad (called "bodachs"). The only people who know about this are his girlfriend and his best friend, who happens to be the Police Chief.

I think you can see where this is going. When Thomas sees bodachs, it's a warning of trouble brewing. So, with the help of the Police Chief and GF, he tries to stop the bad things before they happens, or at least help make it not as bad as it would have been without his intervention.

If you like science fiction or even mysteries, you should definitely check out this series of books.

I'll let you know what I think after I read it. :-)

Dear Constant Readers

I

have written several scheduled posts so that there will be new blog post every day. Those include what books I'm reading & after they have been read, I will be posting reviews. :-)

I finished "Cross" by James Patterson & am half way through "Double Cross". I don't know when that post will show up, LOL.

Evan will be dropping for me on my favorite blogs & some others in exchange for a DVD that he wants, but I'll be checking my comments because I can't quit the internet cold turkey! (Don't laugh at me, Motherwise.)

TTYL!

Double Cross is good & I have to get back to it! :-)

Well I finished Duma Key

I feel the kind of sadness I feel whenever I finish a book that I really liked. I want to know what happens next with the characters.

I'll probably read it again.

The whole book was good, but it got "Sitting on the edge of your seat" good in the last few chapters.

The story is of Edgar Freemantle who is a building contractor in Minnesota. He's happily married with 2 grown daughters.

One day, he goes to the job site and is hit by a crane that isn't making that "beep beep" noise as it backs into his truck.

He loses his right arm, breaks a few ribs & a hip, etc.

When it's clear that he'll survive. His wife tells him that she wants a divorce.

Anyway, he moves to Duma Key, Florida to wait it out until he can kill himself without the insurance company being suspicious, or making his daughters feel the stigma of a father who committed suicide.

While he's there, he remembers that he used to draw. (Lucky for him, he's a lefty.) So he starts drawing. And his right "arm" starts itching furiously.

While he's in these 'fugue states' the pictures that he draws (and eventually paints) are kind of psychic & very creepy.

While he's doing his rehab (walking on the beach for longer distances each day), he meets Wireman (I love Wireman). A former lawyer who is now the caretaker for an elderly lady named Elizabeth something.

That's all I'm telling you.

Read the book.

You can watch a short video of Stephen King describing Duma Key HERE. You can also download a PDF of the first chapter of Duma Key HERE.

Now I go to start reading again.

----------------
Now playing: Day 26 - GOT ME GOING - EXTENDED
via FoxyTunes

Best Harry Potter book EVER

I really liked this book.

I don't want to spoil it for people who don't read as fast as I do.

I think that I can say that there was MUCH more action in this book than in any other.

And I can say that I'm not hating JK Rowling after this like I did after she killed Dumbledore in book 6.

That is all.

Evan is reading it now.

YAY!

I always made the mistake of telling him what happened in the books so he was content to wait for the movie. But this time he'd heard that at least 2 people die and I told him that I wasn't telling him anything about the book this time. He'd either have to read it or wait another 5 years for the last movie.

He's read the other books (except 6...I guess he'll wait for the movie on that one too, LOL) in school when they had to read so many books per grading period.

Wheeeeeeeee!

I want to re-read it now. But I left it on his bed when I finished it this morning as a "gentle nudge", so I can't take it away from him now.

School starts soon and I'll have plenty of time to re-read it then.

One thing I love about JK Rowling (like Stephen King) is that I really savor the books. I found myself re-reading certain passages multiple times because I loved what was happening and I wanted to enjoy that particular part before moving on to the next passage/chapter and finding myself hating her again, LOL.

But I didn't hate her at all this time.

I welled up with tears a few times, but I'm surfing the Crimson Tide at the moment so I'm feeling vulnerable. ;-)

Tell me when you've finished it so I can go into more detail.

Tackle it Tuesday - Part 2

I did it.

It was hard, LOL.

I didn't get to sleep until almost 10 this morning. Well, YESTERDAY, technically. But then I woke up every effing hour to go to the bathroom. Then Mommy Dearest came over today at 12 to take Evan out to lunch. (He has Spring Break this week).

Then I couldn't get back to sleep.

So I finished about half the book. Fell asleep. Started having the weirdest dream that Evan had come home and I couldn't answer him. In the dream, I was SCREAMING in my head but all that came out was "mmmmmm" (Sometimes people with Multiple Sclerosis have something that's like paralysis where they can't react visually/audibly to the people around them. I forget what it's called. It usually happens when they get overheated. I've had so many times when I'm TRYING to speak or move and nothing happens. And of course that gets you upset, which doesn't help. But that's a story for another day.) Anyway, when I finally got my eyes open, it had only been about 10 minutes, LOL.

I got up, ate breakfast, and read some more.

Then my mother brought The Boy back at 7pm and stayed until 8.... *sigh* (Totally cutting into my reading time, irked me to no end. I was a woman on a mission!! I thought he was going to spend the night he was gone for so long...)

Whatever.

I LOVED the book. It's a sequel (of sorts) to Odd Thomas.

Odd Thomas, the main character's name, is a youngish (I think he's in his 20s) guy who sees dead people. One of the ghosts that he sees regularly is Elvis.

Anywhoo, one day the father of his BFF (Danny) shows up in his bedroom. So Odd assumes that he's dead (the father, not the BFF). He goes to the Danny's house, finds the father dead and his BFF missing and he sets out on a mission to find him. His BFF has that "Brittle Bone" condition, Osteogenesis Imperfecta. So of course Odd's worried about him.

That's where he meets Datura. She is described as "... a syphilitic suicide bomber with mad cow disease." HA! I think that's an accurate description of Datura. She's a crazy woman who thinks she's an Invincible Supernatural Adept (or something). Seriously sociopathic. More insane than Jeffrey Dahmer.

One of the things about Dean Koontz (and Stephen King) that I love is that he can totally gross me out in one sentence, and then have me laughing out loud the next.

At one point, Odd is hiding from the bad guys in a storm drain. He starts imagining really horrible ghosties/apparitions are coming for him. He writes:

"...my imagination spins into vortexes darker than any yours has ever visited.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure you've got a fabulously dark, twisted, and perhaps even deeply sick imagination. I'm not trying to devalue the dementedness of your imagination and do not mean to diminish your pride in it."

LOL! Because, really, I was thinking "He doesn't know how twisted my mind is..." and then I read that. :-)

Thank you, Mr. Koontz, for not trying to diminish the pride I have in my sick and twisted imagination, LMAO!

I have to give this book 5 out of 5 stars because:
1. I can
2. Dean Koontz is a great thriller writer
3. There's a great M. Night Shyamalan "twist" at the end of the book that I wasn't expecting AT ALL. :-)

I recommend this book to thriller/mystery lovers whole heartedly.

Now I'm off to go visit the other Tackle it Tuesday participants.