![]() What elevates the film above the routine is its visual look and female cast: Cate Blanchett as Spacey's first wife, Julianne Moore as the new woman in his life and especially the formidable Judi Dench as his feisty aunt. Based on E Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, the tale centres on a third-rate newspaperman (played by a vastly miscast Kevin Spacey), who embarks on a journey of self-discovery when he returns to his ancestors' home on the coast of Newfoundland. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() What has happened to the singular vision of Lasse Hallstrom, so clearly evident in his Swedish ( My Life As A Dog) and first American film ( What's Eating Gilbert Grape')' The Shipping News, his third consecutive film for Miramax, propagates the same compassionate humanism that defined his previous two, The Cider House Rules and Chocolat (both Oscar-nominated), but it also suffers from some of their weaknesses: the film is soft, bland and somewhat shapeless. ![]()
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![]() ![]() This time around, I figured out my currently ideal way to listen: on the iPad, hooked up to a speaker, while sweeping the house - a nice quiet chore, if you discount the puppy’s occasional attempt to catch the broom in her mouth. Last time, I had some mechanical issues that made listening to podcasts difficult. I figured with those things accounted for, I’d have an easy shot at success. Nicole was my editor for Renovation, so I already have positive feelings and know where our senses of humor overlap. It’s a podcast that’s short (six episodes total), funny, and created by Nicole Kimberling. Last month, I didn’t make my goal of listening to 5 episodes. Reading is faster and more efficient.īut when I asked for podcast recommendations, they came fast and furious, so podcasts are obviously something people enjoy. ![]() ![]() It comes down to baking or exercising for me, and those are not always easy to fit into my day. Yet most forms of multi-tasking are out when you’re listening to audio. I am not good at listening or paying attention.For each podcast, I will listen to a minimum of five episodes per podcast before I either give up or add it to my entertainment cycle.I will listen to twelve spec-fic oriented podcasts, one per month.After last year’s successful resolution, I decided to dip my toes into a new-to-me spec-fic area - podcasts. ![]() ![]() While Rebecca attempts to find answers, she is put into a position of authority, one that persuades her to join forces with a Protector who poses as a 'pretend' boyfriend. ![]() As a werewolf she has power that positions her to take a bite out of the crime that destroyed her childhood. As a human she is a struggling high school student who uses music as a coping mechanism. The desire to avenge the murder of her parents drives Rebecca to make life changing choices that impact her and the people she loves. ![]() ![]() The need for vengeance can drive some people to desperation, others to depression, and some go insane with the need to find justice. Vampires, witches, and werewolves, oh my! Two desirable guys, one lost girl, enemies at every turn, and family secrets that threaten to break the ties that bind. ![]() ![]() ![]() However, the reason I think the writing might be a downside to some people, is that it’s a little dense. While I loved each perspective, I think the mystery murderer was the most interesting (plus they quoted Aida so I love them now). The majority of the book is in 3rd person, following Celine and Bastien, but there are 1st person chapters interjected, told from the point of view of the mystery murderer. The prose is elegant, while still including fun banter between the characters and interesting asides. ![]() If you’re familiar with Renee Ahdieh’s books, then you know her writing style. There are two aspects of this book that I think are causing people to not enjoy it. ![]() I promise I will never forget you.” Writing & Setting I watch as you step into my web.īut do not fear. ![]() ![]() ![]() In two days, I put my first Rubik’s cube together – motivating me to move forward. Using tutorial videos on YouTube, I began practicing. I found videos on how the cube works and how to solve one. Record holder learns all the algorithms necessary to solve a Rubik’s cubeĪfter seeing an acquaintance assemble a Rubik’s cube, I began researching them. ![]() On ApI broke the Guinness World Record for solving three Rubik’s cube while juggling in four minutes and 31.01 seconds. The site thoroughly explains how to set or break a record and provides step-by-step instructions to those interested in becoming part of the GWR world.īOGOTÁ, Colombia - While I knew about the Rubik’s cube for several years, it attracted my attention when I saw an acquaintance putting one together. ![]() The Guiness World Records is the global authority on all things record-breaking, according to their web site. Angel took the record and is now registered in the Guinness Book of World Records for assembling three Rubik’s cubes with juggling in 4 minutes and 31 seconds. That was the Chinese 13-year-old Que Jianyu. Only one other person has held the record for solving three Rubik’s cubes while juggling. ![]() ![]() I fall short - Integrity involves striving for excellence while being honest about where you are in relation to it.When is the last time you said, “I don’t know,” and sought someone else’s view? ![]()
![]() ![]() ![]() Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service. Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly-but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden. ![]() Summary: In this exhilarating series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.… Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. ![]() ![]() In the looming shadow of world enmities resumed, and of Asia's coming centrality in world affairs, a man and a woman seek to recover self-reliance, balance, and tenderness, struggling to reclaim their humanity. His counterpart, a young girl living in occupied Japan and tending her dying brother, falls in love, and in the process discovers herself. At the center of the story, a brave and brilliant soldier finds that survival and worldly achievement are not enough. Some will fulfill their destinies, others will falter. In war-torn Asia and stricken Europe, men and women, still young but veterans of harsh experience, must reinvent their lives and expectations, and learn, from their past, to dream again. More than twenty years after the classic The Transit of Venus, Shirley Hazzard returns to fiction with a novel that in the words of Ann Patchett "is brilliant and dazzling." The Great Fire is an extraordinary love story set in the immediate aftermath of the great conflagration of the Second World War. ![]() ![]() And that’s where this book comes into play. And the relationship could be very symbiotic-but only if you let it happen. ![]() ![]() There’s no need to pull the pepper spray this species is helpful by nature. Don’t wait until they stick their head in your second-floor window to invite you over for a perch fry because they climbed on your roof to clean your gutters. We understand that your interaction was strange-but it’s likely to get stranger. He likely waved at you and said, “Hey there,” like you organized the church bar crawl together. Have you ever had a goodbye lasting more than four hours? Do you lack the emotional capacity to say “I love you” so you just tell your loved ones to “watch out for deer”? Have you apologized to a stranger because she stepped on your foot? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a good chance you’re a Midwesterner-or a Midwesterner at heart.Įven if you answered no, you probably know someone who held the door for you from two football fields away. A hilarious full-color guide to Midwestern culture, from comedian and journalist Charlie Berens, creator of the viral comedic series "The Manitowoc Minute" ![]() ![]() ![]() Genie’s poignantly rendered immediate family history and incisive observations about her mostly Asian classmates and community balance the plentiful action in the battles she and Quentin undertake against a plethora of ferocious, eerily described yaoguai. Genie gradually warms to him in a true-to-type romantic comedy that is filled with witty banter and valiant attempts by Genie to resist their attraction. As his story-and subsequently hers-reveals itself, it will surprise no one that the two have an extensive history together, though her actual relationship to him is a clever and fascinating detail. In a dry, wickedly funny, first-person voice, overachiever Genie Lo easily brings readers into her corner as she puzzles with irritation over the behavior of gorgeous, goofy Quentin, newly arrived from China, who presents himself as a new student at her school and seems to think he knows her. ![]() A tough, self-disciplined Chinese-American teen deals with the supernatural derailing of her college-prep activities in this speculative fiction novel that draws on the folklore of the Chinese Monkey King. ![]() |