New Chapters

Medium Raw, Anthony Bourdain
Anyone who read Bourdain's first book, Kitchen Confidential, and is looking for a sequel needs to look elsewhere. Anthony Bourdain has come a long way from the bitter, cynical, darkly humorous, coke-addicted chef in the first book. Now he's a bitter, cynical, darkly humorous food writer/tv star. The main difference between the two books is that Medium Raw, much like The Guinea Pig Diaries, seems to be as much a compilation of separate essays as one coherent book. That said, the essays are still entertaining. The main exception occurs when Bourdain hovers too long on personalities in the food business without sufficiently making the reader care. For the most part, though, he hits his mark. He's witty and often (for me at least) laugh out loud funny. For someone who enjoys Top Chef and felt horrified by Fast Food Nation, this is a great choice. (Note: when tagging this post, I realized I have a LOT of food related tags. I guess I shouldn't be surprised!)

Borrowed from the library

The Amazing Tiffany Aching

Note: I wrote this entry after reading the first two books in the series but never published it. I've since read the last two books as well and enjoyed them just as much. Pick up the first one and I know you will love Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle as much as I did! Thanks for the recommendation Audrey!

The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett
This was another Audrey recommendation and what a good one it was! I loved the matter of factness of the main character, nine year old Tiffany Aching, who reads fairy tales and thinks witches get short shrift. She won me over early on when she used her little brother as bait for a monster and attacked it with a frying pan. Soon enough she encounters a six inch tall, red haired blue skinned man, one of the "Nac Mac Feegle" or Wee Free Men. The Nac Mac Feegle were the highlight of the novel for me as they inject great humor as they go about their "stealin, drinkin, and eatin." The unlikely alliance between Tiffany and the Nac Mac Feegle becomes critical when she has to rescue her little brother from the Faerie Queen. As soon as I finished this I was ready for more!

A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett
A Hat Full of Sky is the next adventure for Tiffany Aching and the Wee Free Men. Tiffany still longs to be a witch and gets the opportunity to train and learn how to use her great natural power. Unfortunately that power is a draw for bad as well as good and Tiffany has to learn who she really is in order to save her own life. The Wee Free Men are once again at their best, and Mistress Weatherwax, the most powerful witch in the world, is unexpectedly as humorous a witch as I have ever read about. I actually preferred this to The Wee Free Men, but I'd still recommend reading both for the sheer fun of them.

For those interested in more, the next two books are Wintersmith and I Shall Wear Midnight. They were both great reads. Also, Audrey reviewed all four books as well...check out her reviews!

Bibliovermis - The Wee Free Men
Bibliovermis - A Hat Full of Sky
Bibliovermis - Wintersmith
Bibliovermis - I Shall Wear Midnight

Hello My Deer!

My friends come from all over the United States and most of us believe that our state is the best. If we want some data to back it up, this link should be helpful...it shows something that each state is the best at. No surprise that Pennsylvania wins for most deer collisions, but would you have guessed that Colorado is #1 for beer production? Expect lots of new residents next year, Colorado!

Some other highlights: My engineer friends may want to consider a move to Delaware, since they have the greatest percentage of PhD level scientists and engineers. Illinois has the highest rate of gang membership...um, thanks, Chicago. If you have a lead foot, avoid Massachusetts since that state has the highest level of speeding tickets. Nevada is a triple winner with the lead in teen pregnancies, foreclosures, and meth use. Way to go Nevada! I would never have guessed that Ohio ranks first in swiss cheese production.

Check it out!
http://1bog.org/blog/whats-your-state-good-at/

What's your state the best at?

Who Moved My Cheese?

It's a busy week for me. I have a lot of work to get done in preparation for a shuttle flight which is launching in just a few weeks. In addition, I won't be at work on Friday because I will be at a very special wedding. I can't wait!

But before I go I wanted to share something special with you. Growing up we were all taught to chase down our goals, no matter what it took. These people took that literally. They are chasing their cheese. (you can see it bouncing there in the middle)


This is a picture from the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling. People chase a wheel of cheese down an incredibly steep hill and risk extreme injury in hopes of winning the prize. What is that prize you ask? Why, it's the wheel of cheese! I really enjoyed these incredible pictures of the event. I think it would be fun to watch but as much as I love cheese, I think I'll just buy mine at the store!