Friday 31 July 2009

Kid friendly (well I am...most of the time)

I've seen some really cute kids books in the last couple of weeks, so I thought I'd share! Enjoy :) Pictures & links are a bit sucky, but I was on the truck so deal :P

First up is one of my absolute fave authors Mick Inkpen, he is responsible for Kipper, Wibbly Pig & Bear to name a few. Lullabyhullaballoo! is a very cute story about a little princess trying to sleep, but it's too noisy. There is also a CD read by Helen Lederer. I've always loved his illustrations & the stories are fantastic to read aloud.

Even with the prolificness (I too can make words up), of swine flu I've decided to put Ella Of Course! by Sarah Weeks, Ill. by Doug Cushman on the list. Ella is a little pig with a big problem! Ella may be a problem solver, but when she receives a present, she becomes a problem maker! Gasp horror! But she can't help it, after all - her umbrella makes such a lovely 'whoosh, click' sound. Pretty, bright illustrations, it's nice & easy to read.

Who's Yawning By David Bedford & Leonie Worthington is part of a series that Rustyn loves & so do I. It's simple, with only a few words on each page - "Who's yawning?" "Miiaaaaoooow." "Cat's yawning" - or sommat to that effect :) The illustrations are beautiful & it's another book you can get the kids involved in, it's got great animal sounds which they love, it was also a great way to teach Rustyn what each animal was.

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! by Mo Willems isn't a new book, but I just love the pigeon series, (Don't Let Pigeon Drive the Bus, Time For Bed Pigeon). The story is essentially about sharing, Willems is great with how he words things and I love how the pigeon gets frustrated & splodes, he sarcastic, just he's a great character. The series is for kids, but adults love them too (and by adults I mean me!)

Good Luck Bear is the 3rd book from Greg Foley. I like how the illustrations are very simple, almost washed out. There isn't a lot of colour, but I think this adds to the book overall. It's a sweet tale about luck not always being where you think it will.

Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas is great. There are 3 very silly looking dust bunnies (ed, ned & ted) who love to rhyme and then there's bob, who doesn't rhyme at all.

Me and My Dad! by Alison Ritchie, ill. by Alison Edgson. Beautiful smiley pictures, cute words, it's just the book to read with your dad! I'm a bit of a sucker for cute bears in a book I must say.

Forever Young by Bob Dylan (yes, that Bob), ill. by Raul Rogers. I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the illustrations, I like the colours, but the peeps have weird faces, but I do like the illustrator's notes. Mostly, I love the words, the song was written in the 70's (from the album Planet Waves), about one of Dylan's sons.

Okay, that's about all the cutesy kid shit I've got time for, back to being my normal, bitchy, foul mouthed cranky self!

C.

Thursday 23 July 2009

Books I've read in 2009 - April

I haven't added my books I've read lately - only a few months behind, so here's Aprils. Be thrilled people, be thrilled!!

15. Poppy Shakespeare by ??? - This was a playaway, not sure if I would have finished it otherwise. It was actually a little annoying. The main character, known as 'N', narrates the story of how Poppy came to be at the mental health daycare centre. There was one thing that N said over and over which got annoying quickly. That said, this did have funny moments and the author describes the menagerie of characters so that they add to the story rather that detract. Overall, not a bad noivel, the ending is just depressing and really sad. It ended completely differently to what I was expecting.

16. Mavrick by Lora Leigh - Yay, new Lora was my first reaction. But I was actually a bit disappointed with this. It continues the Elite Ops series that has spun off from her Tempting SEALs series. Many of the reoccuring characters shor up in this. It continues and (sort of) conclues the back story of the kidnapping of Kari and Emily by her father and the beginning of the relationship between Kari and 'Mavrick', who wants to avenge his mothers death and the hands of Orion, who also had a hand in kidnapping the girls and is the new threat in Kari's life. It's safe to say that Leigh has a reoccuring theme that runs through her books - her leading men find redemption through the women they love, but it would be great to see her write something where this wasn't part of the story. I'm hoping that the Australian character that she has will steer clear of it, especially since he seems a bit frisky and rather happy go lucky. Personally for me, the best bit of the books - all for the wrong reasons mind you - was when he and Mavrick are talking about Mavricks 'stare' or as the skippy dude puts it - his 'Mossad facade' - absolute gold.
17. Marley & Me by John Grogan - This was April's book club book and I really enjoyed it, I guess everyone is able to relate in someway to the story. Growing up we had a dog just like Marley, who thought nothing of destroying the house if we were so insensitive t o leave her home. But she was such a good dog, she got forgiven quick snap. I enjoyed Grogan's style of writing, he was quite funny and I think Istarted tote book not thinking I would like it so much, but the balance between Marley stories and Grogan's life were a nice mix, I coiuldn't help but get on the Marlye bandwagon.

18. Body Double by Tess Gerritson - Another author I hadn't read ye, I'm doing quite well with the resolution to read anything and everything this year. This is part of a series that features ME Maura Isles and Det. Jane Rizzoli. It was well written, snappy and kept me interested. Maura comes back from a trip to Paris to be confronted by a murdered woman in her front yard, one that looks exactly like her. She discovers truths about her past and the sister she never knew. Meanwhile, her friend Det. Rizzoli is investigating the murder, while trying to prepare for the birth of her first child. Uncovering the truth could harm Maura and Jane in more ways than one. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Well that's it for April, I'll have to get the butt into gear and add the rest, sometimes I really wish I had those damn innerwebs at home! Would make my life a whole lot bloody easier I tell ya. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday :)

C.

Monday 13 July 2009

Hottest 100 of all time Part II

Well, the polls are in and it's no suprise really, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana was #1. I love SLTS, but went for Something In The Way instead, I ended up getting 2 of my official picks in #25 Alive by Pearl Jam and #4 Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division. Overall, I was happy with the line up, Jeff Buckley kicked ass with four songs and I was well pleased that that Hallelujah made it (#3). I was also very happy that Hurt by Johnny Cash made it at #60.

There was of course a distinct lack of female artists, not sure why, from memory, the only female voice was that of Elizabeth Fraser (of Cocteau Twins - which I've never heard of), from the Massive Attack song Tear Drop #22. I had 3 female artists in my picks, but obviously we're not loving the ladies. Don't ask me why, I could think of a few that I would pick, Laura Marling, Tori Amos, Camille, Madeleine Peyroux, but on the day, I was feeling what I was feeling and I picked mostly boys.

For your listening pleasure, here is the Hottest 100 Of All Time. This is of course was not my doing as I am a lazy beggar, the brilliant @Warlach did this. Check him out if you're on twitter, he's good people and here's the thingy he made, that plays the music...no not a stereo...a blip.fm Hottest100playlist!!

Enjoy, I know I did :)

C.

Friday 10 July 2009

Triple J - Hottest 100 Of All Time

Thought I'd add my picks for the competition on here, so far one of mine has made it in. Yay for Pearl Jam - Alive. It came in at #25. Fingers crossed I get some more in. I didn't really have a hard time picking songs, but I'd probably pick all different ones if I did it again. I'll have to do my own Hottest 100, cept I suckass at making decisions - unless of course it's where I'm going to holiday next, then I'm all like gangbustas with the decision making. Anyway here are mine in no particular order, plus my number 1 at the time.

11. Mother Love Bone - Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns
10. Paramore - My Heart
9. Pearl Jam - Alive
8. Flogging Molly - What's Left Of The Flag
7. Jeff Buckley - Mojo Pin
6. Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire
5. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
4. Nina Simone - Feelin' Good
3. Nirvana - Something in the Way
2. Doors, The - The End
1. If I Were A Carpenter - Johnny Cash & June Carter Cash

Johnny got two songs as he has a special place in my heart - my dad and I used to spend a lot of time together and he was generally what was playing. He already has one song in the countdown at #60, with Hurt, which is a fantastic song. Flesh & Blood is another of my faves. Looking forward to Sunday, Sandbar is playing the Top 50, so I'll be having a few adult beverages and kickin back to the tunes.

C.

Sunday 5 July 2009

Blogging on my phone! Cept I can't get curser 2 go in main box dammit! So while this will be longest ever post title - I'll have to do rest @ work.

As promised here's the actual post, I played around a bit, but still couldn't get the cursor into this part, I also noticed I missed a couple of words in the excitement, but anywho, I loves my phone anyway. No buyers remorse for me - and yes, I did get an iPhone3Gs. Besides, I couldn't fit anymore words in there. I'm a little afraid to see how much data I used over the weekend, I got it friday night and was on it al over the weekend, putting apps on it - (seriously addicted to the bubblewrap game and toobs), good thing it was Independence Day in US, otherwise I never would have got off twitter, I'd be too busy chatting. So my guess is that I'll be stuck to it for some time to come, not only cause got a little lust happening for it, but cause I'm also still trying to work the damn thing out.

I was also going to add to my books to read list (which were photo's in my old phone - that I can't get to. Oh, it's a long and complicated road I travel). Anyway, here's what I remember, with clicky bits from Amazon cause I'm a lazy bitch:

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Teen horror/action, part of series.
Generation Dead: Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters - Teen horror/romance with zombies YAY!!
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - I saw this at work and liked the cover (yes I'm one of those people :)) AND...more zombies (it's also a teen title).
Thirteen Reasons Why Untamed (House of Night, Book 4) and Hunted (House of Night, Book 5) - Vampires this time, I've just finished the first one and quite enjoyed it, there are a few things that annoy me about the writing, hopefully it's fixed as the series goes on.

I had a bunch of others, but can't remember them, which is going to annoy me. But they'll turn up eventually I'm sure. But for now it's goodnight from me to you.

C.

Thursday 2 July 2009

Mmm...I forsee more popcorn dinners in my future.

I've gotten side tracked - yet again - by some new stuff I'd like to see. My list is growing a whole lot faster that I'm watching stuff at the moment. But no doubt I'll get to them eventually.

First up with Chris Evans, Dijimon Husson, Dakota Fanning, Camilla Belle etal.

PUSH in HD


Next up is the very cool Where The Wild Things Are. It's based on the book of the same name & it looks fantastic, I'm hoping that it is.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE trailer in HD


I want to see this as well, it's all a bit thrillery. It has Sarah Michelle Geller & the guy from Final Destination 2 & the guy from that other movie...you know the one...that movie with the actor guy.

Possession


And this looks funny too.

Talk to Me


This looks so silly, but I wanna watch it anyways :)

Fired Up! trailer


And this looks good too. It's got Sam Rockwell in it, he did the sexy dance in Charlie's Angels 2 after he's all "I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it".

Choke


Ok, have to stop watching trailers!! I need to go do other stuff. Enjoy, no doubt I'll find more.

C.

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