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BehaveBehave by Andromeda Romano-Lax

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Disclosure: I was sent this book from NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you.

As of yesterday, I had no feelings for this book. I was at 75% and still didn’t like the characters and felt no real plot. If my HBOGO not crashed, leaving me with nothing to read/listen to (yes, one more binge of Game of Throne in the works to be ready for the next season, soon), I would have tossed the book and moved on to another. I was so bored with this book. It was taking me forever to read it because I just couldn’t relate to the main character. But I needed something to listen to while I crocheted.

Somehow at 80% I engaged with the book and couldn’t stop reading. Looking back, I think it felt like Watson was dying and I was pleased to see his poor wife move on to being an actual person instead of being his wife, read that, less than an assistant. As happens in marriages, even in this day and age, we lose ourselves to the male, to the servitude of the house and children. And Mrs. Watson did just that.

Not that she was intriguing to begin with. I take that back. She did seem to have some spine before she met the already married professor, behaviourist, psychologist, John B. Watson. But then she stopped using her own brain and relied on his.

Okay, that was how it was back then. But she was a college woman and I had hoped for more. And maybe the real Rosalie Rayner had more gumption. But she disappeared into history and so our author, Andromeda Romano-Lax had to pick up the pieces of her documented life and try to make sense of it for us.

Still, when your breast is nearly busting because you need to feed your baby, you choose to serve only the husband’s research rather than relate and feed your baby? Rosalie merely became a clone of the man.

It is interesting how far the pendulum has swung from that brand of parenting to the La Leche League, nature mothering of the 1970s to 1980s when I was raising my children. How many children were ruined by the clinical mothering taught by Watson and Dr. Spock? But then there are those that wonder the same of the spoilage of generation X. Mothers in my generation were taught that spoiled was something left on the shelf too long.

This book did start a dialogue in my head of how generations of people have survived science, how generations of other animals survived us. So regardless of whether I loved the characters or plot it did get me thinking. Not a bad thing, right?

I think, had I known, that this was a loose attempt at a biography, I wouldn’t have wished for a deeper relationship with the main character but accept her for who she seems to be. It is in the author’s notes at the end, that I suddenly felt another feeling for this poor woman. Bravo, Ms. Romano-Lax for trying to get a handle on the forgotten wife, assistant.

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Open Letter to MSNBC


 

Women hold up half the sky give or take a hundred thousand. But who’s counting?
World:
6,895,889,018   3,477,829,638   3,418,059,380
Total                           male                    female

But in the United States we hold up more:
310,383,948         153,139,563         157,244,385
Total                          male                       female
From http://www.geohive.com/earth/pop_gender.aspx

And it seems that might just be part of your target audience. It should be.
Maybe your only demographic is young (30 to 45-year-old) white males. That appears to be who you cater to. Even though I believe there are more baby boomer women around than those spoiled white boys.
I realize 66-year-old white women like me are a minority. Many my age are not computer savvy or politically independent. It is time to speak my mind. I am the parent of three of 30 to 45-year-old white males in your demographic plus a genius daughter who is 34. And they don’t get their news from you. Neither do their friends. The Internet, podcasts, etc. are their choice for news and information. One son does customarily listen to NPR. Take that however you like.
So what is my point? We’ll get there. Patience young Grasshopper.
Here are some names:
Keith Olbermann
Martin Bashir
Krystal Ball
SE Cupp
Abby Huntsman
Touré Neblett
Ari Melber
Edward Schultz
Steve Kornacki
Alex Wagner
Karen Finney
Joy Reid
Oh, and above all Melissa Harris-Perry.
What do they represent? Diversity. Independent thinking. Something I had grown to expect from MSNBC. And all have left or be minimized on what used to be my favorite political news station. And yes, I know many were fired for speaking their minds often given the boot for being exactly who they are. Really? Do you know how angry and insulted your viewers are by this? How much was MSNBC paid by FOX, Drumpf (Thank you, John Oliver, for that affectation. You know who I mean) or some other Republican money bags to lead to this moment?

Oh, I know some of them are still with you, usually only showing their faces too early on the weekend mornings or small bit parts here and there. Some even try to speak on the screaming, yelling ‘Hardball’ with Chris Matthews, who is the rudest to all his correspondents but mostly to those that don’t agree with him (which means you need to say exactly what he wants to hear or he will say it all himself). No, I don’t want him fired either. He just needs to start having manners and letting his guests speak their minds, too.

And don’t even think I want to lose Lawrence O’Donnell, even though I am offended by his constant flirting with younger female guests. I believe his heart is in the right place and his good far outweighs that rudeness. After all, he is a pacifist from California (YAY! Someone not from NY!) Oh, and a Boomer!
And, of course, leave my Rachel Maddow, who is an equal favorite of mine to MHP. And Chris Hayes who feels to me like Rachel’s younger brother must stay. They are respectful, intelligent and creative in their ways to present the news. But those in the above list were all that, too.
What do you have that I hate? ‘Morning Joe.’ It is named for the white male who has a smart woman, Mika Brzezinski, whose name isn’t in the title of the show and is treated with the least amount of respect from the white men. It should be her show or, at least, demonstrate that she is important enough to include her name in the title.
Then there is the cute guy, Thomas Roberts, with the “weather girl.” You deserve recognition that you included someone with his diversity, but still he looks like Ken to the ‘weather girl’s’ Barbie-ness. Frances Rivera. Yes, she is a woman of color. But she is also knowledgeable and deserves her own show or at least allowed at the table because she has a lot to say and her voice is astounding!
If the above is enough to raise my blood pressure to a dangerous level, what is the worst? I said his original name above. I refuse to join in your constant coverage of that name. But let me give you a rundown on how it happened that MSNBC will be blamed for the next Hitler of this country. It started with the grin. Then the secret smile. It ultimately morphed from the “Biggest Clown in the Clown Car” to becoming “Took all the oxygen out of the room.” (Seriously? You couldn’t come up with a better catchphrase than the one FOX used?)

This sensationalism has grown out of proportion, and it is due to YOUR OWN STUPIDITY! Any parent worth their salt knows that attention is attention, good or bad. And the more attention for inappropriate behavior, the more the inappropriate behavior increases.

Using that logic, MSNBC has failed miserably. In worrying about perceived insults from its own family, it lost the voices that were trying to teach about the good people that are running on the Democratic, Progressive, Independent side of this debate. I thought that was who MSNBC was supposed to stand behind. How many of Hillary’s or Bernie’s speeches have been interrupted by the Drumpf show?
Many of those in the list above could have steered the conversation back to the classroom that you should take seriously, as seriously as O’Donnell does his desks. No, this side isn’t as exciting, or funny, or sensational as the clown-car. You could have made information available for the waste of time you’ve presented lately. And we may very well have a Hitler on our hands. And Hitler wasn’t wasn’t taken seriously in the beginning, either. Can you imagine how much worse it all could have been had FOX and MSNBC been in charge in that era of history? You can’t? Well, there’s the proof I needed to show that you don’t listen to the people who used to like your station best.
You have little time but a lot of previous employees who could turn the tide. Let the verbal slights go. There is something far more important at stake. And remember there are still 24 hours in a day and 7 days a week and most everyone has DVR’s. Stop wasting our time with prisons and clowns. And know that more than half of the people that hold up the airwaves watch your station.

 

 

 

 

 

Dar49 Daily


Source: Dar49 Daily


Cast in Angelfire (The Mage Craft Series, #1)Cast in Angelfire by S.M. Reine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was given this book by the author for an honest review.

I always love it when I can go into the worlds Ms. Reine has built. And I feel exhilarated when I come back to the real world safe and sound. Yes, there will be more to the story but it didn’t leave you on a cliffhanger.

BUT, there is something I wish Sara would do: Please, at the end of the book or the beginning or somewhere on the internet, a cast of characters. Somehow I was under the impression that Marion was Elise’s mother. I did remember she was someone important to Elise. And somehow I had forgotten what had happened to Seth in previous books. Yes, I can understand keeping the history vague due to the fact of Marion’s amnesia but somewhere to be able to look it all up would be great for those of us who have read ALL the books so far and have our own memory problems.

Marion was a growing character in this book and one falls in love with Dr. Luke. And you do feel the connection. You feel that there may be history yet because of the memory lapse on Marion’s side Dr. Luke seems hesitant to do certain things. This ebb and flow of curiosity keeps one moving through the book to find out how and what this connection is, was or is going to be.

As usual, I wish everyone could read all of Ms. Reine’s books starting with Seasons of the Moon. Hard to believe all the characters, beings, and worlds that this prolific writer has brought into being from that young girl, Riley, and to see her make an appearance in this book made it all the better. These worlds and people are as real to me now as they have to be to Sara Reine. Can’t wait for the next one!

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The Summer Before the WarThe Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley.com for allowing me to read this uncorrected proof for free in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, let me tell you how I read most books. I enjoy reading while listening to the Female British voice on Text-to-Speech on my Kindle Fire. In this case, it added a lot to the ambiance of the story. For those who might like Julie Andrews to read a story to you, this method!

Second, I need to tell you what appealed to me when I saw this book. I love historical books about women in the wars that were mostly known for being by and for men and their powers and glories. Yes, I realize that these wars were fought for the freedom for all, but the female half of the world held up the sky while the guys went off to die.

NOW to the review.

Beatrice Nash, the main character represents what I want to see about women of the time. Before the war, she was a Latin teacher. This was shocking in the town where she took that position, as she was not a man. She veers away from the feminine wiles and ways of the times while trying to fit in and earn a living. I admired this character and enjoyed watching her growth during this summer and seeing the support characters grow in response to Beatrice and the coming war and its changes.

The story held together fairly well. But I must admit that I was often bored by the writing. Please don’t think this is a criticism of the writer or the story as I know a lot of people love this kind of story-telling. It just didn’t engage my mind. It was so bad for me that I worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep reading. But I persevered. And I’m glad I did. At about 70% of the book, I found it getting more exciting and I guess I had picked up enough about the characters and the plot that I suddenly found myself quite engrossed in the story. I didn’t stop reading from that point on until the end of the book. By the way, pull out the Kleenex near the end. It wasn’t as depressing as it could be, but a story about war can’t possibly be without loss. Yet the book left me feeling hopeful.

I do believe that my friends who love a good historical fiction with a bit of romance (thank goodness not too much) will love this book. And do try to add the ‘Julie Andrews’ voice. 🙂

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Source: Dar49 Daily


Cat First AidCat First Aid by American National Red Cross

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I wish I could read this! It came with instructions to open written parts but that doesn’t work in this book. The font remains so tiny as to need a microscope! Too bad, I’m sure the information is very good! Can’t read and no text-to-speech. FAIL

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Source: Dar49 Daily

Well, it looks like I won’t be doing this much longer. Paper.li isn’t the great paper it was before. Now it is all pay or get nothing. I don’t mind what they shared of my news-seeking engines but they chopped most of them out. So I guess I need to be less lazy and start posting my own real stuff, huh? I’ll try. That’s all I can say.


Source: About — Samantha Mitchell

Here is another of the impressive artists I was lucky to meet at the Playa last Sunday. Her work is so Zentangle like each thin line of the grains of wood placed with consistent and patient care. Please check out her website: http://www.samanthadylanmitchell.net/


Source: Playa – About PLAYA

This is where I got to go last Sunday. It was as beautiful as it looks, if not more so. There were a few artists still there. Apparently we missed the writers who left the day before. I will try to share a couple blogs of the artists I was able to pick up cards for.

I can’t wait to be able to go back to the Playa!

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