I just reviewed this book on Amazon, and am including my review here:
This book isn't just about sex but certainly doesn't shy away from it either. It's far more about getting a reluctant partner out camping and hiking and then how to improve the odds of having romantic interludes. After that, it tells you how to plan a trip, how to get along while you out there, how to keep clean, how to have romantic dinners and then tells you all the lovely ways of making sex possible that are only available outdoors.
The book is well written, witty and has great stories. Some stories were simply beautiful and brought a tear to my eye and some were laugh out loud funny. I especially liked "Nice Ways to Say You Stink" and the entire chapter on having sex in a canoe. There is one especially sexy story about toasting marshmallows on an open fire that I had to read twice. The illustrations by Ann Miya were a hoot and added a lot of ambiance to the book.
On top of this, there are useful information sections with recipes, romantic locations and an extensive list of on line resources.
My only real gripe is in the layout, where a large aside, taking up a page or two, can go right in the middle of a sentence. It can interrupt the flow, but is a minor point in the middle of a book with so much to offer.
This is a must for couples who like camping and hiking, but even more so for a member of a couple whose partner is resistant to the idea of camping. It suits any level, from hard core to car campers only. I can't recommend it enough for people who just want a little more spice in their life and are wondering how.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Royal Bank banking (1/5 stars)
I have been a Royal Bank member since 1986 when I needed a place to put my cash when I first arrived in university. At the time, it used to be a nice place, you go in and talk to someone and they help you out.
I remember thinking how great cash machines and cash cards were, and they didn't cost anything extra.
It didn't take long for the banks to realize that they could gouge you for a little bit more on each and every transaction, or at least ensure that you were spending a minimum of $10 every month for your transactions.
No bank I have ever been to has been anything but think that I should be gloriously happy they will work with me at all. As an institution, any bank is a money grubbing slime-ball who wants to tear away every cent they can, since 1 cent taken from every individual adds up to millions per year. AND, of course, they don't do 1 cent, they do $2 or $1.10. It always sounds so reasonable when they say, "It's just a small fee."
Every single one of their services used to cost more than it does now, since there was a person doing it. Now, it is almost all automated and they charge just a little bit more for every bit you look at or transfer or save. The charges just creep up too.
I had an account sitting in Canada that was happy to do nothing, there was something like $50 in it. I didn't pay any attention to it, since I've been living in New Zealand for the last 6.5 years but I looked at it and it was in negative numbers, since they've been deducting $2/month from it for the couple of years.
I'm sure they sent me the memo, and they think it's all justified.
I HATE banks. They used to be better and now they are simply worse in every possible way and make BILLIONS every year. That's just BILLIONS of reasons to hate them I think. How much of that is in service charges?
Even 10 years ago when I checked, service charges amounted to 7% of the Royal Bank's total profit. That was 70 million dollars. I guess it's easy to find another way to hide a fee from a bunch of poor morons who don't watch their accounts like a hawk or blow their bank manager to reduce fees.
I remember thinking how great cash machines and cash cards were, and they didn't cost anything extra.
It didn't take long for the banks to realize that they could gouge you for a little bit more on each and every transaction, or at least ensure that you were spending a minimum of $10 every month for your transactions.
No bank I have ever been to has been anything but think that I should be gloriously happy they will work with me at all. As an institution, any bank is a money grubbing slime-ball who wants to tear away every cent they can, since 1 cent taken from every individual adds up to millions per year. AND, of course, they don't do 1 cent, they do $2 or $1.10. It always sounds so reasonable when they say, "It's just a small fee."
Every single one of their services used to cost more than it does now, since there was a person doing it. Now, it is almost all automated and they charge just a little bit more for every bit you look at or transfer or save. The charges just creep up too.
I had an account sitting in Canada that was happy to do nothing, there was something like $50 in it. I didn't pay any attention to it, since I've been living in New Zealand for the last 6.5 years but I looked at it and it was in negative numbers, since they've been deducting $2/month from it for the couple of years.
I'm sure they sent me the memo, and they think it's all justified.
I HATE banks. They used to be better and now they are simply worse in every possible way and make BILLIONS every year. That's just BILLIONS of reasons to hate them I think. How much of that is in service charges?
Even 10 years ago when I checked, service charges amounted to 7% of the Royal Bank's total profit. That was 70 million dollars. I guess it's easy to find another way to hide a fee from a bunch of poor morons who don't watch their accounts like a hawk or blow their bank manager to reduce fees.
Monday, March 31, 2008
Book: "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson 1954 (5/5 stars)
An absolutely fabulous book. It makes the recent movie attempt seem like a complete insult to the vision of this original masterpiece.
Richard Matheson is well known in science fiction and horror circles, but doesn't seem to pop up that often in discussions of classic science fiction. I have no idea why not.
He has the distinction of having a higher percentage of his novels being turned into movies than any other science fiction writer and you've heard of his work if not him. "I Am Legend" alone has been made into a movie three times, in 1964 as "The Last Man on Earth" with Vincent Price, 1971 as "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston and just recently in 2007 as "I Am Legend" with Will Smith.
Other movies that were based on his novel include:
Duel, Steven Spielberg's first movie.
What Dreams May Come
Stir of Echoes
and the up and coming The Incredible Shrinking Man
"I Am Legend" isn't just some vampire novel. It re-invented vampire novels and spawned a long string of books and movies for decades to come. A heart wrenching novel of loneliness and pathos that truly does take you through a roller coaster of emotions and gets into the head of someone who is slowly going insane.
I loved the book from the first page to the last and despite being copied again and again by author after author, has not, to my knowledge, ever been equaled by any other vampire novel.
Richard Matheson is well known in science fiction and horror circles, but doesn't seem to pop up that often in discussions of classic science fiction. I have no idea why not.
He has the distinction of having a higher percentage of his novels being turned into movies than any other science fiction writer and you've heard of his work if not him. "I Am Legend" alone has been made into a movie three times, in 1964 as "The Last Man on Earth" with Vincent Price, 1971 as "The Omega Man" with Charlton Heston and just recently in 2007 as "I Am Legend" with Will Smith.
Other movies that were based on his novel include:
Duel, Steven Spielberg's first movie.
What Dreams May Come
Stir of Echoes
and the up and coming The Incredible Shrinking Man
"I Am Legend" isn't just some vampire novel. It re-invented vampire novels and spawned a long string of books and movies for decades to come. A heart wrenching novel of loneliness and pathos that truly does take you through a roller coaster of emotions and gets into the head of someone who is slowly going insane.
I loved the book from the first page to the last and despite being copied again and again by author after author, has not, to my knowledge, ever been equaled by any other vampire novel.
Movie: "I Am Legend" (3.5/5 stars) 2007
A good, solid action movie about he end of the world where a cure for cancer turns the population into a bunch of sunlight hating vampires.
Enter Robert Neville (played by Will Smith), a doctor working on a cure, all alone in Manhattan, hunting vampires by day, holed up in his house by night.
It successfully gives you a sense of loneliness and what it does to you, and idea what a completely lonely man does with his time and has some really cool action scenes.
In the end, a little too Hollywood for me though.
Enter Robert Neville (played by Will Smith), a doctor working on a cure, all alone in Manhattan, hunting vampires by day, holed up in his house by night.
It successfully gives you a sense of loneliness and what it does to you, and idea what a completely lonely man does with his time and has some really cool action scenes.
In the end, a little too Hollywood for me though.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Book: "Who Wrote the Bible?" by Richard Elliott Friedman (5/5 stars)
Richard E. Friedman does so many things right in this book. His analysis is convincing, his translations are powerful and accurate, he keeps his postulations small and he gives all the details on the difficulties and possible problems in separating the various authors.
I'm not a religious person, but recognize the historical, social, cultural and religious impact of the bible.
The premise, and it has been known for more than 150 years, is that the first five books of the Bible, previously attributed to Moses, were actually written by several authors. Not only that, but by recognizing the stylistic differences and the different perspectives, it is possible to almost completely unravel the passages by different authors. With more analysis, it's possible to tell which were written first, and where and when these authors lives. In some cases, Richard Friedman actually names the author or editor of the piece. While nothing can be 100%, he gives good reasons for his conclusions.
I loved the book and enjoyed almost everything about it. Some of his passage translations were impacting and have become my new favorites.
My biggest criticism was with the footnote numberings. Really, I had almost nothing bad to say about the entire book.
I can highly recommend this to anyone who has even a passing interest in the history of the Bible. A reveal to be sure.
My favorite biblical quote from Friedman, a re-translation of Deuteronomy 31
"16 When you are lying with your fathers, this people will rise and will whore after alien gods of the land onto which they are coming, and they will leave me and break my covenant which I have made with them.
17 And my anger will burn against them in that day, and I shall leave them, and I shall hide my face from them, and they will be devoured, and many evils and troubles will find them.
And they will say in that day, 'It is not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?'
18 But I shall hide my face on that day because of all the wrong that they have done, for they turned to other gods."
I'm not a religious person, but recognize the historical, social, cultural and religious impact of the bible.
The premise, and it has been known for more than 150 years, is that the first five books of the Bible, previously attributed to Moses, were actually written by several authors. Not only that, but by recognizing the stylistic differences and the different perspectives, it is possible to almost completely unravel the passages by different authors. With more analysis, it's possible to tell which were written first, and where and when these authors lives. In some cases, Richard Friedman actually names the author or editor of the piece. While nothing can be 100%, he gives good reasons for his conclusions.
I loved the book and enjoyed almost everything about it. Some of his passage translations were impacting and have become my new favorites.
My biggest criticism was with the footnote numberings. Really, I had almost nothing bad to say about the entire book.
I can highly recommend this to anyone who has even a passing interest in the history of the Bible. A reveal to be sure.
My favorite biblical quote from Friedman, a re-translation of Deuteronomy 31
"16 When you are lying with your fathers, this people will rise and will whore after alien gods of the land onto which they are coming, and they will leave me and break my covenant which I have made with them.
17 And my anger will burn against them in that day, and I shall leave them, and I shall hide my face from them, and they will be devoured, and many evils and troubles will find them.
And they will say in that day, 'It is not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?'
18 But I shall hide my face on that day because of all the wrong that they have done, for they turned to other gods."
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Movie: Little Children (4/5 stars) 2006
We just got this out on DVD. I had no expectations at all with it.
I loved the movie and thought that it was an absolutely excellent film with strong characters with believable motives and actions.
Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly star in an intense movie about what lonely and controlled people do when their life just isn't going the right way.
The movie built up so much, that I was actually nervous about how it might go, how these characters who I really cared about and had a vested interest in might be hurt or humiliated. It was torture in the last few minutes.
Any movie that can do that to me deserves my praise. A simply excellent movie.
I loved the movie and thought that it was an absolutely excellent film with strong characters with believable motives and actions.
Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson and Jennifer Connelly star in an intense movie about what lonely and controlled people do when their life just isn't going the right way.
The movie built up so much, that I was actually nervous about how it might go, how these characters who I really cared about and had a vested interest in might be hurt or humiliated. It was torture in the last few minutes.
Any movie that can do that to me deserves my praise. A simply excellent movie.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
movie: "Pan's Labyrinth" (4.5/5 stars) 2006
A gorgeous movie, it is subtitled throughout in Spanish. I read the subtitles as quickly as possible so I could get back to the stunning visuals.
A fairy tale set in a horrific location at the end of WWII, we see a little girl, Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero) struggling with two challenges. One is her new life; her mother has married a man (Sergi López) after her father's death, and she tries to understand her new life and this new man. The 2nd, is the magic world of faeries and the underworld. She meets a magical faun in the labyrinth near her new home who tells her she's a missing princess from the underworld and has to prove herself so she can return.
Ofilia's magical quests and the violent, war-time setting resonate making each all the more real.
Guillermo del Toro, the director, is a genius who achieves his vision with incredible clarity.
With recent movies adding to world mediocrity, this one stands out as a bright, shining star. I can't recommend it enough.
A fairy tale set in a horrific location at the end of WWII, we see a little girl, Ofelia (played by Ivana Baquero) struggling with two challenges. One is her new life; her mother has married a man (Sergi López) after her father's death, and she tries to understand her new life and this new man. The 2nd, is the magic world of faeries and the underworld. She meets a magical faun in the labyrinth near her new home who tells her she's a missing princess from the underworld and has to prove herself so she can return.
Ofilia's magical quests and the violent, war-time setting resonate making each all the more real.
Guillermo del Toro, the director, is a genius who achieves his vision with incredible clarity.
With recent movies adding to world mediocrity, this one stands out as a bright, shining star. I can't recommend it enough.
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