Sunday, June 23, 2019
Bookended by Cats
So we missed a Friday Flashback and my reviews are not ready so here is a photo of the cats that bookend us and in this case are bookending the bed and not actually us. Meow
Monday, June 17, 2019
Veil of Roses by Laura Fitzgerald
Dangrdafne review:
What a wonderful love story. Deep, sweet, intense, mysterious, and not at all what you think.
A beautiful Persian/Iranian woman comes to the US in order to find a husband and be able to stay in the US. She is a conflicted woman. She wants all the independence the US offers but she also needs to be an obedient Persian woman in order to find the right man who will marry her in a short amount of time. She has a sister and brother in law who are doing everything in their power to help her but can she find a husband before her visa runs out?
Spoilers
Until the very end of the book you don’t know if she will find a husband...and if he will be a good man.
There is Ike, Haroun, and Masoud. Ike is an American, Haroun is an Iranian businessman and Masoud who has a special secret and is too good to be true. This is a true romance novel that isn’t a romance novel. It is a full on love story but
it is really all about Tami learning to love herself, find herself and live the life she was always meant to live.
It is a gloriously beautiful story that every woman, regardless of nationality, should read. It can teach us so much about ourselves and how much we need to learn to love ourselves and put ourselves first. Her friends at her English Language class are just perfect sounding boards for Tami and for us. I want to be friends with these people. Her teacher not only teaches the characters in the book but the reader too about freedom and independence.
So back to the other love story, who will Tami choose? I so want to tell you but I would rather you read the book. I have trouble writing book reviews because I want to talk about it all but at the same time I don’t want to tell anyone anything without them reading it first. This book unfolds so beautifully and your emotions go all over and it is a just a beautiful ride. I have to leave it to you to read it and enjoy the ride on your own.
4 paws!
What a wonderful love story. Deep, sweet, intense, mysterious, and not at all what you think.
A beautiful Persian/Iranian woman comes to the US in order to find a husband and be able to stay in the US. She is a conflicted woman. She wants all the independence the US offers but she also needs to be an obedient Persian woman in order to find the right man who will marry her in a short amount of time. She has a sister and brother in law who are doing everything in their power to help her but can she find a husband before her visa runs out?
Spoilers
Until the very end of the book you don’t know if she will find a husband...and if he will be a good man.
There is Ike, Haroun, and Masoud. Ike is an American, Haroun is an Iranian businessman and Masoud who has a special secret and is too good to be true. This is a true romance novel that isn’t a romance novel. It is a full on love story but
it is really all about Tami learning to love herself, find herself and live the life she was always meant to live.
It is a gloriously beautiful story that every woman, regardless of nationality, should read. It can teach us so much about ourselves and how much we need to learn to love ourselves and put ourselves first. Her friends at her English Language class are just perfect sounding boards for Tami and for us. I want to be friends with these people. Her teacher not only teaches the characters in the book but the reader too about freedom and independence.
So back to the other love story, who will Tami choose? I so want to tell you but I would rather you read the book. I have trouble writing book reviews because I want to talk about it all but at the same time I don’t want to tell anyone anything without them reading it first. This book unfolds so beautifully and your emotions go all over and it is a just a beautiful ride. I have to leave it to you to read it and enjoy the ride on your own.
4 paws!
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
The Last Jedi
Dangrdafne review
We finally got around to watching The Last Jedi.
I did not like the first half of the movie. It was hokey, long and disjointed. I felt like Mark Hamill was almost making fun of himself and it was distracting.
But once the second half started I was in it. I was completely engulfed in the story and wanting to know what was going to happen.
Simply put for me and this set of Star Wars movies is...I love Rey. I love Daisy Ridley as Rey. I love this character sooo much. I think Daisy portrays her perfectly and I could just watch a movie with just her and none of the others... well maybe BB8 ;)
I didn’t get the whole Emo Kylo Ren since I pretty much felt like he was just as he was previously. I was excited when Rey and he were working together and I wish he had changed but alas no. I LOVED him taking out Snoke and I did like the trickery with Laura Dern’s character and you thought she was one way but she wasn’t.
I did also love the comedy of the “nuns” on the island and I think the Porgs are adorable.
I want to watch this again already because I am pretty sure I missed some things but overall I give this 1 paw for the first half and 3 paws for the second half.
We finally got around to watching The Last Jedi.
I did not like the first half of the movie. It was hokey, long and disjointed. I felt like Mark Hamill was almost making fun of himself and it was distracting.
But once the second half started I was in it. I was completely engulfed in the story and wanting to know what was going to happen.
Simply put for me and this set of Star Wars movies is...I love Rey. I love Daisy Ridley as Rey. I love this character sooo much. I think Daisy portrays her perfectly and I could just watch a movie with just her and none of the others... well maybe BB8 ;)
I didn’t get the whole Emo Kylo Ren since I pretty much felt like he was just as he was previously. I was excited when Rey and he were working together and I wish he had changed but alas no. I LOVED him taking out Snoke and I did like the trickery with Laura Dern’s character and you thought she was one way but she wasn’t.
I did also love the comedy of the “nuns” on the island and I think the Porgs are adorable.
I want to watch this again already because I am pretty sure I missed some things but overall I give this 1 paw for the first half and 3 paws for the second half.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Friday 80s Flashback for May 31, 2019
[Concrete Blonde] -- Depending on the resource, Concrete Blonde's self-titled debut album is listed as released in either 1986 or 1987. Either way, it is over 30 years old this year! I cannot quite recall when I first heard of Concrete Blonde, but I do know that "Still in Hollywood" still makes me rock out. While "Dance Along the Edge" is one of the most honest songs of the decade ("Can we promise love? Is it all too much? And do our old souls still believe it? It's insane the way we dance along the edge"). Yeah, Concrete Blonde got more notoriety in 1990 with "Joey," but this debut album is the one that has staying power for my money.
Flashback: Concrete Blonde (1986/87)
Once again, I remind you that the rule of three applies when doing Flashbacks. As I've made my three offerings, that's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Blade Runner 2049
Dangrdafne review
So Brainwise asked me to DVR Blade Runner 2049 when we had free Cinemax. I’ve been curious about it too so I obliged. We finally got around to watching it the Saturday night of Memorial Day.
I vaguely remembered the original which I had seen once but Brainwise remembered enough to help fill in gaps.
This would have been a great movie... IF...if they cut down on the long drawn out scenes. Oh my goodness this movie was looooong and not in a good way at all. In fact a few times I sighed in frustration at the time scenes were taking. Cut all that out and you have a much better movie.
The concept was good and it was carried out well overall. The cinematography was excellent and the music was good although I am surprised I didn’t think it was great. It had a lot of sounds that I like but it just overwhelmed too much and I almost wished we turned off the closed captioning because the description of the music was laughable and unfortunately it did influence how I felt about the music in some scenes.
Jared Leto overdid his scenes and Harrison Ford just seemed to be going through the motions. I liked the twists the movie took but I did figure it out and I was sad about that. I would much rather had been surprised but perhaps if they didn’t have the long scenes to think about other things during, I might not have figured it all out :)
I sometimes base my feelings for a movie based on if I would watch the movie again...this one I would not BUT it is really just because it is too long with too many unneeded long scenes. I so wish it was edited better so I could be more into it.
2 paws for Blade Runner 2049
So Brainwise asked me to DVR Blade Runner 2049 when we had free Cinemax. I’ve been curious about it too so I obliged. We finally got around to watching it the Saturday night of Memorial Day.
I vaguely remembered the original which I had seen once but Brainwise remembered enough to help fill in gaps.
This would have been a great movie... IF...if they cut down on the long drawn out scenes. Oh my goodness this movie was looooong and not in a good way at all. In fact a few times I sighed in frustration at the time scenes were taking. Cut all that out and you have a much better movie.
The concept was good and it was carried out well overall. The cinematography was excellent and the music was good although I am surprised I didn’t think it was great. It had a lot of sounds that I like but it just overwhelmed too much and I almost wished we turned off the closed captioning because the description of the music was laughable and unfortunately it did influence how I felt about the music in some scenes.
Jared Leto overdid his scenes and Harrison Ford just seemed to be going through the motions. I liked the twists the movie took but I did figure it out and I was sad about that. I would much rather had been surprised but perhaps if they didn’t have the long scenes to think about other things during, I might not have figured it all out :)
I sometimes base my feelings for a movie based on if I would watch the movie again...this one I would not BUT it is really just because it is too long with too many unneeded long scenes. I so wish it was edited better so I could be more into it.
2 paws for Blade Runner 2049
Friday, May 24, 2019
Friday 80s Flashback for May 24, 2019
[Overdriving for 33 Years] -- It was 33 years ago this weekend, AC/DC released their soundtrack album for the Stephen King flick, Maximum Overdrive. The album was titled Who Made Who (1986), and it had only three new tracks, the remaining six coming from previous records. The previous material includes the hits "You Shook Me All Night Long" and "Hells Bells" (from Back in Black), and "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" (from, appropriately enough, For Those About to Rock We Salute You).
That's all till next week. Dedicated 80s-philes can find more flashbacks in the Prophet or Madman archives or via Bookended's 80s Flashback tag. As always, your comments are welcome on today's, or any other, flashback post. And if you like what I'm doing here, please share the link with your friends. If, however, you don't like the flashback, feel free to share it with your enemies.
I'll see you in seven!
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Official Star Trek Poster Magazine Ad
Comic book ad for the Official Star Trek Poster Magazine. This scan is from MEN OF WAR #1 (DC Comics | Aug, 1977).
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