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Showing posts from November, 2010

Just Read: The Warded Man

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The Warded Man  This was a fun read.  The story doesn't bear strong scrutiny but if you're willing to just go with the flow it's a romp and a half. The Warded Man takes place in a world where every night horrible monsters rise like vapors from the ground and kill and eat anything that isn't hiding behind protective wards.   These wards are an ancient and mysterious set of symbols that when placed correctly form a barrier which no monster can pass. Even with the wards human kind isn't fairing very well and just moving between distant towns to carry messages has become a profession only the bravest and hardiest souls are fit for.    But being stout of heart isn't enough.  The messengers also have to know the arcane arts of warding. The construction and maintenance of the wards is a difficult but lucrative professions as everyone needs it yet the slightest mistake can mean the difference between life or death.  The novel starts out with the tragic back st

Nook

I received a Nook for my birthday.  It's my first e-book reader so I can't really compare it to others like the Kindle but I can say I really enjoy reading on it.  I read a lot in bed with a head lamp and because the all pages show in the same area there's none of the hand-shifting needed as with a physical book in order to get the page in the light. One unexpected side effect of the device is that it's easier for me to stop reading books I'm not enjoying.  There is no nag factor of the unfinished tome calling out to you from the book shelf.  The unfinished now sit silent and hidden in the digital library. On the down side it's harder to move around in the text and go back and review parts unless you've had the foresight to place a digital bookmark. In general it's a nice reading option but one that time will certainly improve.

Just Watched: Grown Ups

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Just Watched: Grown Ups With this movie I continue the sad trend of finding the most craptastic movie available.  A couple of months ago I wrote about another ensemble comedy called 'Death at a Funeral ' and lamented how such a funny cast could end up making such a shitty movie.  That sentiment goes double or triple for this movie. Just for the record,  I'm not a snob when it comes to stupid comedy. I laughed at Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo.  I found Dude Where's my Car? to be kind of charming.  With the notable exception of Little Niki I generally enjoy Adam Sandler movies.  I can handle stupid.  What I can't handle is unfunny. Grown Ups is a tale of a New England town's championship winning youth basketball team that reunites twenty years later after the death of their beloved coach.  The team, now all grown up, each carry their stereotypical and trite baggage:  Sandler's career is doing well but his kids aren't grounded,  Jame's was laid o