Weekend Movie Viewing

Saw a flick called Treasure of the Grand Canyon with Michael Shanks. In this one, an Aztec Tribe manages to live logn into the 20th century inside a temple in the Grand Canyon. Yes.... I'm saying it with a straight face. I cannot tell you how annoying this movie was. I will only say that the hero "pretended" that he had taken out his out heart asnd sacrificed himself. Yep, in all the thousands of years the Aztec priests were sacrificing folks, they never realized someone could pretend to pull out his own heart!!!!! How dumb do they think Native folks are???

It was amazing. He stabbed himself than pulled out this blob of thingey -- which he had stolen from a sacrificial pot-- then he stood before the trembling masses. Then he suddenly fell to the ground. And those ignorant little old natives believed!!!!! But when the heroine raced to him, he winked at her. So...wow, we saw how he deceived those idiotic simpletons. The weird thing is they have this demongod called Quetzlcoatl who our heroes manage to kill by letting the temple bricks fall on him. Wow, amazing, uh! The Aztec priests hadn't done that either. All those years and they couldn't figure it out.

The other weird stuff in this film just really got to me. As I said, it was all a bit much. If you ever see it, the heart pulling comes around the last 15 minutes so you won't have to endure the entire thing. I'll just say that dark superstitious native types are very easily-fooled by white heroes.

I saw a good sweet little romance called Undercover Christmas in which a FBI operative takes a gangster's moll to his house for christmas...and his staid family are somewhat shocked by the girl's general flooziness but then they warm to her and well, he falls in love with her. Very corny and the bad girl with the heart of gold thing and the annoying lower class accent thing was a bit much. But sweet on the whole.

Study War No More

I actually like Sister Rosetta Tharpe's version better than Mahalia's but..



My favorite Mahalia song

Living Rich for Less Tour

Living Rich for Less
By Ellie Kay

Blurb:

You really can be rich in every way, every day.

So you want to own the home you love, make memories on wonderful vacations with family or friends, finance college educations, and help others too?

You can—starting here and now.

With lively humor, proven know-how, and practical principles for financial health, Living Rich for Less helps you stretch your dollars to realize the lifestyle of your dreams. Ellie Kay’s entertaining and enlightening examples show you simple steps to save, spend, and give smart, and her three main principles are undergirded by dozens of effective rules and hundreds of Cha-Ching Factor™ tips that keep or put money in your pocket.

Ellie knows what it’s like to be financially-strapped or struggling, wanting to be the Joneses but feeling as poor in spirit as in pocketbook. She went, within two and a half years, from being a new wife and mom with $40,000 in consumer debt and seven children (and college educations) to support, to being completely debt-free and within fifteen years able to pay cash for eleven different cars, give away three of those cars, buy two five-bedroom houses (moving from one to the other) and nicely furnish each, take wonderful vacations, dress her family in fine fashion; and support more than thirty non-profit organizations in more than a dozen different countries, giving away more than $100,000.

Isn’t that the kind of transformation to a rich life that you want?

Living Rich for Less helps anyone get there in our taxed-out, maxed-out times. Because financial security doesn’t mean just genuine prosperity, but being able to live luxuriously, give generously, and care for yourself as well as the others around you.

Why keep up with the Joneses when you can be them?

Vatican Sexy Priests Calender 2009

Okay, what were they thinking?

Review: Living Rich for Less by Ellie Kay

Living Rich for Less
By Ellie Kay

BLURB

With lively humor, proven know-how, and practical principles for financial health, Living Rich for Less helps you stretch your dollars to realize the lifestyle of your dreams. Ellie Kay’s entertaining and enlightening examples show you simple steps to save, spend, and give smart, and her three main principles are undergirded by dozens of effective rules and hundreds of Cha-Ching Factor™ tips that keep or put money in your pocket.

My review is up at blogcritics

CFBA: Where Do I Go? by Neta Jackson

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Where Do I Go?
Thomas Nelson (December 9, 2008)
by
Neta Jackson


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
As a husband/wife writing team, Dave and Neta Jackson are enthusiastic about books, kids, walking with God, gospel music, and each other! Together they are the authors or coauthors of over 100 books. In addition to writing several books about Christian community, the Jacksons have coauthored numerous books with expert resource people on a variety of topics from racial reconciliation to medical ethics to ministry to kids in gangs.

Dave and Neta live in Evanston, Illinois, where for twenty-seven years they were part of Reba Place Church, a Christian church community. They are now members of a multi-racial congregation in the Chicago area.

They're trying something new! Not just new for them, but something completely new in Christian fiction: “Parallel novels,” two stories taking place in the same time frame, same neighborhood, involving some of the same characters living through their own dramas and crises but interacting with and affecting one another … just the way it happens in real life.

It’s something that only a husband and wife writing team could pull off. While Neta has Where Do I Go?, her husband Dave has written Harry Bentley's Second Chance.



ABOUT THE BOOK

A story of seeking-and finding-God's will in unlikely places.

Gabrielle Fairbanks has nearly lost touch with the carefree, spirited young woman she was when she married her husband fifteen years ago. But when the couple moves to Chicago to accommodate Philip's business ambitions, Gabby finds the chance to make herself useful. It's there she meets the women of Manna House Women's Shelter; they need a Program Director-and she has a degree in social work. She's in her element, feeling God's call on her life at last, even though Philip doesn't like the changes he sees in her. But things get rough when Philip gives Gabby an ultimatum: quit her job at the shelter or risk divorce and losing custody of their sons. Gabby must take refuge, as in the song they sing at Sunday night worship: "Where do I go when there's no one else to turn to? . . . I go to the Rock I know that's able, I go to the Rock."

Romantic Times Book Reviews says, “Exquisite characters coupled with God's mercy and love emanate from each page.”

Publisher's Weekly adds, “Jackson's Yada Yada series has sold half a million copies, and this new offshoot series ... promises the same.... The book's dramatic ending ... leav[es] readers eager for the next installment in the series.”

To read the Prologue and first Chapter of Where Do I Go?, go HERE

Christmas gleanings from the net

Check out this review of a new Bible translation on Subversive Influences

Jason over at Spoiled for the Ordinary has been doing some posts on alternate Christmas gifts

Christianity Today's Top Ten Theological stories of 2008

Chris from Stuff as Dreams are Made On has a post on a Christmas book he read.

He also has another post on Christmas books and films

Scary Film Review is doing a search for scary Christmas Horror

Gospel.com looks at the unknown meaning behind several famous Christmas hymns

Sci Fi Catholic has a Keep Mass in Christmas Campaign

The folks at A Book Inside have a list of writer freebies on the net

The African American fiction blog APOOO has tons of twelve days of Christmas giveaways.

Biology in Science Fiction has a list of bio science fact books on their Christmas list recommendations

Gospel Com is working on a mobile Bible gateway blackberry

The folks at Enduring Romance are doing lists of their top ten

Tracey Michae'l Lewis has a neat meme which might make us ponder what we have done with our lives already.

Ozark, Suz Elgin Haden the great linguist and scifi poet has a great Holiday poem up on her lingustics site over at live journal

White Readers Meet Black Authors has a post for recommendations on Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa books by Black writers.

Hookers For Jesus

Hookers For Jesus

Cartoon banned by the Mormon Church

A skit on south park

Weekend Movie Viewing

Saw National Security with Steve Zahn whom I usually love and Martin Lawrence. I don't know why but Martin always has to play angry dangerous black man and to me anger isn't funny. Seeing a buddy flick where the guys totally hate each other and their anger is supposed to be funny...well, it gets me uncomfortable. Hey, I don't mind anger in movies but there's a point in certain comedies where it gets so odd and mean-spirited I simply can't deal.

Saw Rumble in the Bronx. Okay, this is the very first time I've ever seen this flick. Yes, yes, I know... considering how much I love Jackie Chan and Jet Li and Asian martial arts or arty films I really should have watched this. Well, imagine my surprise when I see an old Asian guy -- the uncle of Jackie Chan's character-- married to an older Black woman. I was like, well, this is interesting! So I kept watching it but I found myself cringing. Yesh, like when I cringed when Michael Jackson kissed Lisa Marie Presley on MTV. It felt very odd. I seem to have an extra sensitivity to interracial relationships used as a kind of ploy or stunt.

Watched The Librarian: Quest for the Spear. Okay, I've seen this before and I kept wondering what it was about this flick that kept me wanting to avoid it so much. Okay, the plotting is obvious sometimes and the scifi stunts are pretty crappy but I'm easygoing. Any lover of scifi can endure bad CGI. But what annoyed me during this flick was the subtle and not so subtle cracks at Judeo-Christian beliefs and the Bible. When you have a character searching for the name of God and suddenly realizing the answer is "me" because "God is inside all of us" or praising Buddhism but saying stuff like, "Well, with this discovery we will have to totally rethink the Bible." Well, there is a point. After that was Librarian: Solomon's mine and Librarian: Judas. And honestly, I just didn't want to see my faith annoyed even more.

YEah, I was jumping all over the place. Hey, I was stuck in bed trying to catch up with sleep. Watched the Kraken. I endure the bad CGI./ Scifi Channel is especially bad at this kinda thing. The production companies they buy their films from are....well, when their effects get used on clip shows like The Soup or Best Week Ever. You can tell. but hey, I liked the Kraken, it was the most fantastical of the Water Creatures Sunday pick., I simply did not want to watch Shark 3: Megalodon.

The best flick was Borrowed Hearts starring Roma Downey. Okay, I'm a wuss. But I was totally touched. It's about a single mom whose rich boss needs to pretend he's married because he's trying to sell his company to a Mexican businessman (played by Hector Elizondo.) Roma Downey's character is really sweet and she has a daughter who is a good actress except for those moments where one feels the director told her to try to look cute and sentimental. There's also an evil selfish ex-husband in the background.

I've heard casting folks talk about an actor's gravitas. I totally understood it with the Elizondo roll. I knew his character had integrity before he opened his mouth. But I'll say that the screenwriters playing around with the child's notion that "mommy, he's an angel" pretty much hinted at "faith is subjective. He may or may not be an angel but this is what she believes so yes, it's true. "FOR HER". That was annoying and subtly messy theologically for me. Childlike Faith is often shown as sweet sentimental delusion. Which it isn't. Childlike faith is pretty hard to have. A couple things that also annoyed me in this otherwise really sweet movie was a black woman co-employee is kinda put into the scene to be a symbol of the good working poor American woman who will lose her job if the company goes overseas. I know, I know. Poor white screenwriters. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. But I'm sorry it felt like tokenism. I suppose I should be glad there's a part for a black woman. Another thing that bothered me were plot silliness. When the pretend wife and husband are supposed to have their first real I'm-falling-in-love-with-you-for-real kiss, the little girl shouts from her pretend room, "Mommy, come! I'm scared!" Totally wrong line. Heck, the little girl is never scared. The screenwriter could have written something like, "Mommy, come and tuck me in!" That would've worked better. There's another instance too of this kind of plot silliness that could have been made better with a little tweak. But on the whole I loved this film.

Also saw Anchorman with Will Ferrell. Okay, I love Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, Ben Stiller, Steve Carrell, Owen Wilson, Seth and all those Judd Apatow folks but I didn't think this was funny. Instead of commenting on old-fashioned sexual mores they should've had a plot about all the news groups competing for ratings or something.

A movie I looked at but didn't finish was Holiday Switch about a woman who is married to a poor guy and they have no money for anything and are always getting bill collectors. But he's a good soul. She switches her life via a clothes washer and ends up married to the rich guy...and of course she soon regrets her wish. I wanted to like it but ... it was predictable in a bad way. And weirdly, there were very few black folks in the flick. Okay, I know...I said earlier that black folks shouldn't be used as tokens but honestly, all the maids and secretaries in this flick are hispanic. Probably is really like that in California but it did kinda bother me. Made me think about poor black women with no jobs.

-C

Blomicon

Michelle, what have you wrought!

Okay, since Michelle Obama is now First Lady Elect, all sorts of stuff has been popping up on the internet about black female beauty. (Okay, more stuff than usual.)

On White Men Who Love Black Women

On Black women blow the trumpet

On marriage.about.com

On What Fresh Hell is This

On Claire Light

The Michelle Obama song



And please check out the I want me some Michelle Obama video On Divided House

On Rawdawg (Okay, this was from january 08)

Hey, maybe with a powerful woman in the white house they'll stop thinking of us as slave women with no beauty.

Bad Sex award short list

For your enjoyment

The Bad Sex award shortlist


And the winner was:

eye of a needle

Needle Sized Art Very incredible story! Not only is this mans art cool but he got a ton of cash for it!

Some John Day Videos

Okay, guys, a musician friend of my ebuddy needs some bucks. He does Christian acoustic songs. A CD costs about $15.00

This is the Song America from the album "I Paul"

If you like what you hear, get in contact with Specilum at youtube or John Day (his addy is at the end of the video) and they'll set ya up with a cd.

Send money to musicman81indie(at)yahoo.com by paypal

CFBA: Quills and Promises

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Quills And Promises
Barbour Publishing, Inc (May 28, 2008)
by
Amber Miller


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Hi, I'm Amber, but my friends call me Tiff, short for Tiffany, my first name. I am in my 30's, married the love of my life in July 2007, and live in beautiful Colorado just east of the Front Range of the Rockies, but I love to travel and visit new places. Ultimately, my dream is to own horses and live in a one-level rancher or log cabin nestled in the foothills of the mountains. For now, I will remain where I am and do what I love—design web sites and write.

Amber's very first book, Promises, Promises, released in February 2008. It's a historical fiction set in Delaware during the Colonial period and the Great Awakening. The other 2 books in the series are this current one, Quills And Promises (July 2008) and Deceptive Promises (December 2008). In 2009, they will be repackaged for a state set entitled Delaware Brides. She has also sold another series set in historical Michigan during the Industrial Revolution. The 3 books in that series will begin releasing in May 2009 and will be repackaged in 2010 as Michigan Brides.


ABOUT THE BOOK

-- Separated from Madison when he leaves to fight the French and Indians, Elanna Hanssen must choose between her heart and her head, especially when Madison's integrity is questioned. --

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not until thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." ~Proverbs 3:5-6

Innocence paired with wisdom beyond her years. With these traits, Elanna Hanssen unwittingly captures the attentions of Major Madison Scott. Her honest desire to understand the war fascinates him, and he resolves to get to know this perspicacious young lady better. When his military duty separates them, they begin a correspondence, cautiously baring their hearts to each other. Elanna has never known emotions like this before, but she is drawn to the integrity she sees in her major. When a local news reporter questions the major's credentials and activities, however, will she allow her heart or her head to rule? Can true love grow over such distance and around such obstacles?

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Quills And Promises, go HERE.

Weekend movie viewing

Well, it's Christmas and Lifetime is having its yearly Christmas Romance movies. Every day a zillion romantic movies occurring around Christmas trees and all that Christian sentimentality.

First, the obvious: None of these movies specifically are about faith in Christ. At the most, very rarely they are about faith in God. But for the most time it's more of a faith in faith, faith in the power of belief, the power of love, the power of dreams. None of this is particularly bad but it's not particularly Christmassy either...except for the ubiquitous Christmas trees.

One could actually go through the 30 days of December and never get even a whiff of the Christmas story of Jesus.

But moving on to the movies. Well, first of all I have to say the magical negro was everywhere. Even if a kid doesn't know what Christmas about, by the time he has finished watching christmas movies he'll know that angels are sweet hipster black and male.

Okay, okay, the movies: The best was Eve's Christmas. A working woman goes back in time (via her helpful black angel) to marry the man she should have married instead of ending up in the evil city with wealth and power. We all know how that goes.

The worst was (Dang, I forgot the title! but it was ) about a widowed doctor's wife who is supposed to marry a nice sweet solid attorney but she meets a handsome store clerk and has qualms. Of course she goes off with the handsome store clerk because he is uh...well... handsome. These things happen. The plot is so horrible and it basically seems as if we are supposed to believe this guy is right for her simply because he is hot and funny. (Okay, I didn't think he was funny or representative of her wild and free side but I was supposed to.) Weird plot stuff aside, and zippo lack of personality traits, the worst thing is that the story gets rid of its premise half an hour after it starts. I mean: wouldn't it have been best to keep the handsome stud as poor instead of making him an architect/stock owner who gave up his evil money-making job because it wasn't noble and fulfilling enough. It just totally messed up the premise by making him rich. But I guess that's part of the entire romance genre. A good woman doesn't marry down.

The oddest film was Noel. Talk about angsty. Okay, typically some Christmas films are way full of angst. But dammit, this was way overdone. And there was even a priest who had lost his faith. (Do not let ngo on about how annoyed I get with the Robin Williams humorous outsider as wise-man schtick!) Why is humor euated with depth btw? But there was also this odd gay thread in it... which didn't go anywhere. I think basically the film -- which had tons of stars in it-- was trying to remake the typical Christmas film but didn't have the nerve to go all teh way. It was supposed to be bittersweet but it was just plain rancid.

There were some pretty dragony movies on Scifi Channel. Most were okay for the most part but Rock Monster was unintentionally humorous. It's hard to fear a rock when one keeps thinking they swiped him from Galaxy Quest.
C

Enjoyment

Consider the words of C.S. Lewis:
"If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and to earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I suggest that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased."

In Memoriam: My mother Louise Stewart -1933-2004

Yep, every year I remember her on her birthday.

I have to admit something. I used to hate mother's day in church. I don't know. I think it was because it was so dang sentimental. The giving of the flowers to the mothers, the corny sermons, etc. Whenever I realized that a sunday was going to be mother's day Sunday, I'd just avoid it and simply not turn up to church.

So yeah, I hated sentimentality. In the Bible we are told over and over to "remember when the lord did such and such." Remembering is a big thing in the Bible. In the world atheism is equated with being so intelligent and rationale and deep. In the Bible it is the "fool" who says in his heart that there is no God. And not believing is equated with not remembering. I think it was Psalm 73 --0r was it Psalm 78-- that we should remember. (actually it doesn't matter cause the Bible is full of all these admonitions to REMEMBER.) So the Bible even has David writing a book of remembrance.

To God, we start losing faith in God and the spiritual realm when we forget what God has done for us. Remember how the Lord they God did this great deed or delivered etc.

Well, thinking of my mother, I remember all the things she told me about what God did in my life as a kid...and what God did in her life. And isn't that what God tells us to do: we must tell our children and our children's children what God has done for us.

I suspect I didn't much like mother's day because I hadn't lost my mother. Yeah, yeah, the old thing about never appreciating until a person is dead. I look at my hubby and I appreciate him. I look at my friends and I appreciate them. So maybe I've gotten older. I suspect many kids might just have a problem appreciating what and who they have.

When my mother died, I was so distraught, I said to God, "If I had known, I would've tried to buy a new house so she could've lived with us. Oh, I didn't know she was so old. Not really. Oh, I wish I could have done so much for her to show her how much I love her." Know what God said? Yep, I heard it deeply and clearly as if He was standing beside me and saying it! I heard in my spirit: "Don't worry. In heaven you will have many days to do wonderful things for her."

That made me so happy. To think! In heaven we will not only be receiving God's love...and my mother is not only receiving God's love now. . . but we will be able to surprise those we love with wonderful gestures of love and giving!!! Our God truly knows how to comfort. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that in heaven I'll be able to do so much good for my mother. Giving is a keep part of appreciation and it's good to know that in heaven --although God is the ultimate giver-- we can still give to those we love. Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His Name together. -C

GREAT BLACK BOOKS ‘08 / RAWSISTAZ FAVORITES

GREAT BLACK BOOKS ‘08 / RAWSISTAZ FAVORITES

January Features:
· Sweet Georgia Brown by Cheryl Robinson (Fiction)
· Murder, Mayhem and a Fine Man by Claudia Mair Burney (Mystery)
· Passin’ by Karen E. Quinones Miller (Fiction)
· Wind Follower by Carole McDonnell (Speculative Fiction)
· Where I Want to Be by Maryam Diaab (Romance)

February Features:http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=12177793#
· Not Even if You Begged by Francis Ray (Fiction)
· Hotlanta by Denene Millner & MItzi Miller (Young Adult Fiction)
· Even Numbers by Barbara Grovenor (Fiction)
· Interceptions by Staci Robinson (Fiction)
· Choices by Skyy (Fiction)

March Features:
· Jezebel by Jacquelin Thomas (Christian Fiction)
· Faith Under Fire: Betrayed By A Thing Called Love by LaJoyce Brookshire (Memoir)
· The Mpire: In Search of the Lost by T.L. James (Fiction)
· Them by Nathan McCall (Fiction)
· Three Wishes by Janice Sims (Romance)

April/May Features:
- Long, Hot Nights by Candice Poarch (Romance)
- Like Never Before by Sylvia Lett (Romance)
- The Trophy Wife by Ashley & JaQuavis (Street Fiction)
- Dynamic Diva Dollars: For Women Who Aren’t Afraid To Be Millionaires by Elon Bomani (Self-Help/Business)
- Naked Love by Darnella Ford (Fiction)
- Sacrifice: Demon Hunter Series Book 2 by T.L. Gardner (Paranormal)
- Deception’s Legacy by Jacqueline G. Randolph (Fiction)
- One Dead Lawyer by Tony Lindsay (Mystery)
- Sexcapades by HoneyB (Erotica)
- The Knees of Gullah Island by Dwight Fryer (Historical Fiction)

June/July Features:
- Ivy’s Twisted Vine by Latrivia S. Nelson (Fiction)
- Too Little, Too Late by Victoria Christopher Murray (Christian Fiction)
- Money Power Respect by Erick S. Gray (Street Fiction)
- Forever The Fat Kid by Michael Boyd (Memoir)
- Love Tornado by Mable John and David Ritz (Christian Fiction)

August Features:
- Motherless Child: Stories of A Life by Sarah Gordon Weathersby
- Just Too Good To Be True by E. Lynn Harris (Fiction)
- You Gotta Sin To Get Saved by J. D. Mason (Fiction)
- Shameless Hoodwives by Meesha Mink and De’Nesha Diamond (Street Fiction)
- Orange Mint & Honey by Carleen Brice (Fiction)

September Features:
- Crown’s Jewel by Cynthia D. Toliver (Fiction)
- Seeds of Bible Study by Carol McDonnell (Non-Fiction/Religious)
- Three Doors Down by Michele Sudler (Romance)
- Taneesha: Never Disparaging by M. LaVora Perry (Young Adult)
- Broken by Robin “Robbie” Ayele (Mystery)

October Features:
- Sinful Too by Victor McGlothin (Fiction)
- Harriet Tubman: Imagining A Life by Beverly Lowry (Non-Fiction)
- Floss by Monica Marie Jones (Fiction)
- Lady Preacher by K. T. Richey (Christian Fiction)
- Charlemagne Mack: Rise of the Queen, Personal Journal #1 by Stephen M. Jones (Young Adult)

November Features:
- Uncle Otto: A Novel by Winifred Cook (Fiction)
- So Good It Hurts by Na’Kisha Crawford (Self-Help)
- Rhythms of Grace by Marilynn Griffith (Christian Fiction)
- In The Night of the Heat by Blair Underwood, Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due (Mystery)
- The Shadows by L.A. Banks (Paranormal)

December Features
- This Life Isn’t Perfect Holla by Sandra Foy (Romance)
- Ruby and the Booker Boys: Trivia Queen, 3rd Grade Supreme by Derrick Barnes (Young Adult)
- Reflections of A Mississippi Magnolia: A Life of Poems by Patricia Neely-Dorsey (Poetry)
- Blackbird, Farewell by Robert Greer (Mystery)
- Family Skeleton: A Brother and Sister’s Journey from Murder to Truth by Sabrina Carmichel-Yaw and Aurora (Memoir)
- Southside Nefertiti #3 by Mike Sales (Comic)

————
The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (TRR) are the team of reviewers for RAWSISTAZ Literary Group (www.rawsistaz.com) and are committed to supporting and spreading the word about African-American titles. Since inception in January 2001, they have reviewed approximately 4,500 titles, been published in numerous print and online magazines, and provided online newsletters for book lovers worldwide.
For more information visit www.blackbookreviews.net or www.therawreviewers.com.

http://readersrooms.com/?p=1625

Active Sharing on Youtube

Well, it's my 49th birthday!

All is well here. God is good. Trying to stick to a very rigid diet. Aaaargh. But I sleep better when I do. Much mid-life crisis regret about health, life, child's health, but I feel God is telling me to endure and to expect great things. So am trying to understand Jesus and God as restorers. . . that perhaps life for me in my latter end will be better than it's been the past 49 years. Tough to learn to look at hope when life has been such a trial for so long. But I'm growing in my knowledge of how truly great and loving God is.

What else? I'm becoming more and more myself. . . whatever that is. An example:

So I've been on active sharing on youtube for about two months now and let me tell you it's the most public conscientious activity I have ever done.
"Really?" you ask.
"Yes, really," I answer.

The trouble is I am what many Christians would consider a "carnal" Christian. Granted, I don't think I'm that carnal. At least I'm not carnal in the way St Paul meant it. When St Paul described carnal Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:3-4 and 2 Corinthians 10:4 and Hebrews 9:10 he was talking about the type of Christian who walks by sight, who actually believes in and fights about earthly stuff such as denominations, who actually think following external rules of eating drinking clothing etc are signs of holiness. That's not me. But most Christians will think I'm carnal because I do have that horrendous crush on Cloud from Final Fantasy and I actually listen to music and watch movies no Christian would be caught watching.

So here's the problem. When you do active sharing on youtube, ALL your youtube friends can see what it is you're actually watching. They see what you've rated, what you've favorited, what you've uploaded, etc.

So my youtube friends can see that I've favorited the (somewhat potty-mouthed) Canadian East-Indian comedian Russell Peters. And Chocolate News. And . . . well, everything I've done.

This wouldn't be so bad if I had only one kind of friends. If say, I had only secular non-believing friends, they'd see my proclivities and all the religious stuff I rate and favorite and think I'm odd but they'd probably not think I was being sinful.

But the problem is with my Christian friends. One of them is quite cool and easygoing. But the other...well, I like him but I find myself wondering. Okay, he's white Christian so he didn't vote for Obama. I see him rating and favoriting stuff against Obama, but do I care? No! I'm cool. I let things go. I don't think he's a racist. But what does this guy think when he sees the stuff I've been seeing? Lord knows. He hasn't been talking to me in a while. Hasn't returned my emails. Ahem. So. . .uhm. . .I shouldn't assume anything. He's probably just off on vacation. But my history with Christians make me worry that he saw one too many "Cloud is so sexy" video on my favorite list and dumped me.

Of course I had the choice of taking myself off active sharing. But I did not. Why? Because I am trying to be myself without fear. Yeah, stupid reason and stupid thing to do when you know how easily some Christians judge. But I put myself and my heart on my blog and I'm not going to start hiding aspects of myself. A true witness delivers souls, as the Proverbs say.

RIP: Odetta

CFBA: Dark Pursuit

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Dark Pursuit
Zondervan (December 1, 2008)
by
Brandilyn Collins


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Brandilyn Collins is known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. She is currently working on her 20th book. For chances to win free copies of her work, join her Fan Club on Facebook. Here’s what Brandilyn has to say about why she wrote Dark Pursuit:

In John Milton’s Paradise Lost Satan’s followers, kicked out of heaven, boast about storming the gates and reclaiming their territory. Beelzebub scoffs at their boasting as merely “hatching vain empires” and suggests a different revengeful scheme: seduce mankind away from God. So Satan visits the Garden of Eden to teach humans the very thing he and his cohorts have learned to be futile—the dark pursuit of hatching their own vain empires instead of following God. He presented man with this “gift” of death, disguised as life. And man fell for it.

Upon this theme of man’s fall and spiritual blindness, I created the characters and events in Dark Pursuit. The story clips along at a fast pace, with much symbolism running underneath.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Dark Pursuit—A twisting story of murder, betrayal, and eternal choices

Novelist Darell Brooke lived for his title as King of Suspense—until an auto accident left him unable to concentrate. Two years later, reclusive and bitter, he wants one thing: to plot a new novel and regain his reputation.

Kaitlan Sering, his twenty-two-year-old granddaughter, once lived for drugs. After she stole from Darell, he cut her off. Now she’s rebuilding her life. But in Kaitlan’s town two women have been murdered, and she’s about to discover a third. She’s even more shocked to realize the culprit—her boyfriend, Craig, the police chief’s son.

Desperate, Kaitlan flees to her estranged grandfather. For over forty years, Darell Brooke has lived suspense. Surely he’ll devise a plan to trap the cunning Craig.

But can Darell’s muddled mind do it? And—if he tries—with what motivation? For Kaitlan’s plight may be the stunning answer to the elusive plot he seeks...

Read the first chapter of Dark Pursuit, HERE.

Angelia Vernon Menchan: Author

Schae's Story
Paperback: 268 pages
Publisher: acVernon Menchan (December 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0978783557
ISBN-13: 978-0978783556

Here's the blurb:

In SCHAE'S STORY: A Woman's Transformation, readers will see the unveiling of a woman everyone thought they knew. We will be exposed to how difficult it is for the people around us to accept our desire to change. Also, that while many people preach that God will change someone’s life they really do not believe it to be true. Schae’s Story will also expose the many ways in which love manifests itself in a woman’s life, family love, community-love and most importantly the reciprocal love of God.

SCHAE’S STORY: A Woman’s Transformation….NOW AVAILABLE on amazon

Signed copies at www.angeliavmenchan.com



Angelia Vernon is also the author of IS NO NOT CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU
Blurb:

Is No Not Clear Enough for you tells the story of a young, spiritual emerging woman who knows at sixteen how important it is to own herself. Malaaka Green is spiritual, young, smart and beautiful. And one thing she knows for sure is that she is not going to do anything for or with anyone that is in conflict with her spirit or her future. Surrounded by a supporting cast of family, friends and foes, we get to see what the possibilities can be when a young woman owns her own destiny.

180 pages
Publisher: acVernon Menchan (December 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0978783530
ISBN-13: 978-0978783532
Angelia blogs at http://acvermen.blogspot.com/

Then Along Came An Angel Book Tour

Then Along Came An Angel
by Julie Bonn Heath
is a collection of stories about true-life encounters with angels. Yours truly has a story in it.

Joan Wester Anderson, the popular bestselling author of multiple angel books, sent her comments on "Then Along Came an Angel":

Then Along Came an Angel" is a wonderful book, great stories. . .(I know you didn't ask for a critique but I had to put my oar in. I get very excited about good angel books. They fill a tremendous hunger, and keep the topic alive, and we can't get too many of them)...ALL the stories are GOOD

… Joan Wester Anderson

Here is a part of my account.
THAT SMILE


I was only 16. I was studying the Bible. During those times, I had horrendous nightmares of being pursued by a "Godfather" type figure who seemed intent on harming me. C.S. Lewis wrote that many people don't believe in God simply because they do not want to have another Father. But then it hadn't occurred to me that my inability to trust in God was rooted in the fact that I had no real father. Nor did the fact that the nightmare "Godfather" might be the same Person I referred to in my prayers as "God, Father in Heaven."

But there I was, reading the Bible and lying in bed when for no reason at all, I turned towards the wall. That was when I saw a being standing there. To say I was surprised is an understatement. The being whom I saw was a far cry from the typical angel one might see in greeting cards. There were no feathers, for instance, no wings. The being was plain and simply made up of light. It was as if someone had taken a fine-point pencil or chiseling tool and drawn a pencil sketch on the wall. Except that instead of dark still lines, what I saw was living moving light, a fine-featured being finely-etched like a drawing but quite real. The being wore a crown and except for a smile did not seem to move. And it is this smile that I will always remember.
It was a smile that seemed to say he understood everything about meB good and bad yet loved me anyway. I don't think I can adequately describe the feeling of intimacy and personal attachment that this person seemed to feel for me. It was as if we were old friends, as if he had always been there with me and would always be there with me. Here was a being to whom I was completely known and completely loved. A being with complete good humor and a sweet conspiratorial kindness in his eyes. All I could do was smile at him, as if to say, "Oh, it's you!"

The funny thing was that this angel did not say anything. He didn=t tell me any great spiritual truths about my life or the world. But his very presence showed me that there was a world where good and love and God existed. During the following years, I have endured several trials. During these times I have asked myself, "How could God allow this to happen to me if He still exists?" I have asked God to send his loving angel to me several times to comfort me. That request has not been granted and the angel has never reappeared. But, with the help of the Bible, this visitation has healed my past fatherlessness and has been a healing balm to the lovelessness of my earlier life. Whenever I am about to fail under the strain of the trials in my life, I remember the sweet sweet smile of that being from another country. The memory of a person I have yet to truly meet has stayed with me. And every thing in me longs for that wonderful loving country that is and has always been my Home.

Anyway, check out the tour of the book! Buy it for Christmas!

I need Africa more than Africa needs me.

First, let me give you a quick reminder of what I posted last week and let me encourage you to go to the Mocha website to check out the new campaign!

As I wrote on Nov 24th, I need Africa reminds me that we all need people. The west has really messed up the idea of families and kinship. We in the west suffer a lot of loneliness and isolation because of this silly nuclear family stuff. It's a western concept that is too rooted in individualism, property, etc. Also, I suspect that most Africans show us what human interaction really is. As humans we are people who like joy, who need love, etc. But the west represses us. Emotions aren't readily shown. Not that everyone in Africa is a free-spirited soul. I'm sure there are stiff-upper-lipped Africans in Africa. But when I look at documentaries about Africa and other indigenous people, I see that at heart we humans are simply loving, uncomplicated, un-gameplaying folks. I somehow feel we westerners have so many silly priorities and ideas of behavior going on that we have lost touch with what it means to be authentic humans. We westerners are often not genuiune. I also think the African world is quite aware of some spiritual truths we westerners don't want to think about. Yeah, yeah, I know. All that spiritism stuff.

Now, this is what Barrett Ward, the creator of this I NEED AFRICA MORE THAN AFRICA NEEDS ME campaign says:

When I think of Africa, the following images immediately come to mind: Starvation. AIDS. Child soldiers. Genocide. Sex slaves. Orphans. From there, my thoughts naturally turn to how I can help, how I can make a difference. “I am needed here,” I think. “They have so little, and I have so much.” It’s true, there are great tragedies playing out in Africa everyday. There is often a level of suffering here that is unimaginable until you have seen it, and even then it is difficult to believe. But what is even harder is reconciling the challenges that many Africans face with the joy I see in the people. It’s a joy that comes from somewhere I cannot fathom, not within the framework that has been my life to this day. Read More

Other blogs participating in this campaign can be found at Mocha Club's blog

"I need Africa video" IS UP AT
YOUTUBE or click here.

CFBA: One Perfect Day

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
One Perfect Day
FaithWords (October 22, 2008)
by
Lauraine Snelling


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Today, Lauraine Snelling is a member of the more than Two Million Books In Print club, but when she first began, she was a mother of three teenagers with a simple dream to write “horse books for kids.”

All told, she has over 50 books published. She thinks. She’s not sure. She’d rather write them than count them. Lauraine’s work has been translated into Norwegian, Danish and German as well as produced as books on tape.

Awards have followed her dedication to “telling a good story”: the Silver Angel Award for An Untamed Land and a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart for Song of Laughter.

Helping others reach their writing dream is the reason Lauraine teaches at writer’s conferences across the country. She mentors others through book doctoring and with her humorous and playful Writing Great Fiction tape set. Lauraine also produces material on query letters and other aspects of the writing process.

Her readers clamor for more books more often and Lauraine would like to comply, if only her ever-growing flower gardens didn’t call quite so loudly over the soothing rush of the water fountains in her back yard and if the hummingbirds weren’t quite so entertaining. Lauraine and husband Wayne have two grown sons and a cockatiel named Bidley, who loves to tease their Basset Hound named Chewy.


ABOUT THE BOOK


Two mothers end up more closely connected that they could dream...and yet they are strangers to one another.

The first has two children--twins, a boy and girl, who are seniors in high school. She wants their last Christmas as a family living in the same home to be perfect, but her husband is delayed returning from a business trip abroad. And then there's an accident--a fatal one involving a drunk driver.

Meanwhile, the other mother has a daughter who needs a new heart, and so the loss of one woman becomes the miracle the other has desperately prayed for. While one mother grieves, and pulls away from her family, the other finds that even miracles aren't always easy to receive.

If you would like to read the first chapter of One Perfect Day, go HERE

Borders 2008 Original Voices Awards

The nominees for the 2008 Original Voices Awards are:

Fiction
-- "Dear American Airlines," by Jonathan Miles (Houghton Mifflin)
-- "The Cellist of Sarajevo," by Steven Galloway (Riverhead)
-- "The Good Thief," by Hannah Tinti (The Dial Press)
-- "The Lace Reader," by Brunonia Barry (William Morrow)
-- "The Somnambulist," by Jonathan Barnes (William Morrow)
-- "The White Tiger," by Aravind Adiga (Free Press)

Non-Fiction
-- "The Alchemy of Air: A Jewish Genius, a Doomed Tycoon, and the
Scientific Discovery That Fed the World but Fueled the Rise of Hitler,"
by Thomas Hager (Harmony)
-- "The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese
Food," by Jennifer 8 Lee (Twelve)
-- "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in
the World," by Eric Weiner (Twelve)
-- "The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood," by
Helene Cooper (Simon & Schuster)
-- "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a
Great Victorian Detective," by Kate Summerscale (Walker & Company)
-- "We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken
Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever," by
Benjamin Mee (Weinstein Books)

Young Adult/Independent Reader
-- "Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go," by Dale Basye (Random House Books for
Young Readers)
-- "I Am Apache," by Tanya Landman (Candlewick)
-- "The Patron Saint of Butterflies," by Cecilia Galante (Bloomsbury USA
Children's Books)
-- "Tunnels," by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams (The Chicken House)
-- "Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines," by Nic Sheff (Ginee Seo Books)
-- "Wake," by Lisa McMann (Simon Pulse)

Children's Picture Books
-- "Do You Do a Didgeridoo?," written by Nick Page and illustrated by Sara
Baker (Make Believe Ideas)
-- "Ladybug Girl," written by Jacky Davis and illustrated by David Soman
(Dial)
-- "Little Bunny Kung Fu," written and illustrated by Regan Johnson
(Blooming Tree Press)
-- "Those Darn Squirrels!," written by Adam Rubin and illustrated by
Daniel Salmieri (Clarion Books)
-- "Wave," written and illustrated by Suzy Lee (Chronicle Books)
-- "What's Under The Bed?," written and illustrated by Joe Fenton (Simon &
Schuster Children's Publishing)

What Would Jesus Buy

Ah! Black Friday! The largest shopping day of the year! The day after thanksgiving!

A great DVD for those who want to challenge our nation's addiction to buying is What would Jesus Buy? Ah! Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Now!

Here's the synopsis:

Take heed brothers and sisters! The shopacalypse is upon us! America is fat with greed and addicted to shopping. Luckily, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir are here to save our souls from overspending! In the weeks leading to Christmas, Reverend Billy and the Choir board a bus headed from advertising-thick Times Square through the heartland’s shopping malls to the commercial mecca—Disneyland. Part performance art, part spendthrift evangelism, they cross the US singing and preaching to spend gently. With the average American holding about $8,500 in credit card debt, his work is overdue. Reverend Billy is serious in his message. He doesn’t preach the impossible task of never buying again, but encourages us to be mindful of where our dollars go. We visit a Main Street men’s clothing store struggling for customers against the Wal-Mart up the road and a line of Christmas shoppers waiting to buy an Xbox 360 lest they feel the wrath of their consumption-addicted children. Billy and the choir go caroling to incite ‘change-a-lujah!’ along front porches in gated community and from church pulpits. They’re making trouble, evading Mall of America security, and just like the rest of us, they’re fighting the urge to buy for the sake of spending. By the time they get to Disneyland, you may find yourself converted, ready to buy American and swear-off big box stores in favor of your local merchants. -Rose Vincelli, SilverDocs

One of the producers is Morgan Spurlock, the same guy who did Supersize Me.

Here's a youtube trailer:



Another clip:


Here's an article on the documentary over at democracy now.

It played at the SF Indie documentary festival Oct -Nov 2008

Henry Cho, Comedian

Henry Cho is a Korean-American comedian from Tennessee. He's also a Christian.

These youtube thingeys should be clickable but in case they aren't. Click on the youtube links.

A bit of Henry Cho's standup routine



Henry Cho radio appearance





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH8E_nkDNDo

Storycorps

StoryCorps,

is an independent nonprofit project whose mission is to honor and celebrate one another’s lives through listening.
By recording the stories of our lives with the people we care about, we experience our history, hopes, and humanity. Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to take home and share, and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. Millions listen to our award-winning broadcasts on public radio and the Internet. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans.

It has recorded nearly 40,000 interviews since it began and has created the first-ever National Day of Listening (NDL), which will be held November 28.

Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps, explains that the goal of NDL is to

"encourage, instruct, and inspire everyday people to start a new
holiday tradition: sit down with a loved one on the day after Thanksgiving and record a meaningful conversation to preserve for years to come. It's a chance to give the gift of listening, a priceless treasure that costs nothing but a little time."

National Public Radio (NPR) stations across the United States are promoting National Day of Listening. You can listen live on the Internet at the KWMU website

Let the right one in

If you see any romantic young adult vampire movie, this year, check out Let the Right One In

It's in swedish with sub-titles but search it out at your local art house.
Here's the blurb:

A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy's wish for a friend seems to come true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him with her father. A pale, serious young girl, she only comes out at night and doesn't seem affected by the freezing temperatures.

Coinciding with Eli's arrival is a series of inexplicable disappearances and murders. One man is found tied to a tree, another frozen in the lake, a woman bitten in the neck. Blood seems to be the common denominator – and for an introverted boy like Oskar, who is fascinated by gruesome stories, it doesn't take long before he figures out that Eli is a vampire. But by now a subtle romance has blossomed between Oskar and Eli, and she gives him the strength to fight back against his aggressors. Oskar becomes increasingly aware of the tragic, inhuman dimension of Eli's plight, but cannot bring himself to forsake her. Frozen forever in a twelve-year-old's body, with all the burgeoning feelings and confused emotions of a young adolescent, Eli knows that she can only continue to live if she keeps on moving. But when Oskar faces his darkest hour, Eli returns to defend him the only way she can ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ckdZpYVn38

CFBA: Beloved Captive

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Beloved Captive
Barbour Publishing, Inc (November 1, 2008)
by
Kathleen Y’Barbo


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

There’s never a dull moment in the Y’Barbo household! From hockey and cheer mom to publicist to bestselling author, Kathleen Y’Barbo somehow manages to do it all - and well. While wearing her publicist’s hat, Kathleen has secured interviews with radio, television, and print media for clients at NavPress, Hatchette, Integrity, Barbour Publishing, and Broadman & Holman, to name a few. She also brings her own unique blend of Southern charm and witty prose to the more than 350,000 award-winning novels and novellas currently in print. Her novels have been nominated for American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006; and 2007 will see the release of her 25th book.

Kathleen is a tenth-generation Texan and a mother of three grown sons and a teenage daughter. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University. Kathleen is a former treasurer for the American Christian Fiction Writers, and is a member of the Author’s Guild, Inspirational Writers Alive, Words for the Journey Christian Writers Guild, and the Fellowship of Christian Authors. In addition, she is a sought-after speaker, and her kids think she’s a pretty cool mom, too…most of the time, anyway.

The first book in this series is Beloved Castaway.


ABOUT THE BOOK

In this sequel to Beloved Castaway, Emilie Gayarre is learning to accept her mixed race heritage while finding fulfillment in teaching children of the key. There is no denying the attraction between Emilie and the handsome young naval commander, Caleb Spencer, who is shadowed by his own flock of secrets. But if her heritage is found out, even greater things than his career are at risk. Enjoy this historical romance full of risk and redemption.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Beloved Captive, go HERE.

The Mocha Club

I was asked by Mocha Club to write about the concept of why ‘I need Africa more than Africa needs me.’ Mocha Club is a community-based website where members can start a team and invite friends to join them in giving $7 a month – the cost of 2 mochas – to support a project in Africa. Mocha Club's vision is to provide a way for people who don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to make a difference in Africa.

Okay, so why do I need Africa more than Africa needs me?
Because I like its idea of kinship and tribes. Honestly, the world we live in is so homogeneous and we in the west have lost track of extended families, extended communities, etc that I think we need to really look back to Africa about communal living.

I also need Africa because I always feel as if we in the west have forgotten what it's like to be human. When I see Africa, I am reminded about humanity's basic need: companionship, fun, friendliness.

Share your thoughts and even blog about it yourself. Join in the worthwhile cause of recasting the damaging images that force pity over partnership. Come back Dec 1st to see what Mocha Club is doing about reforming that image.”

“I need Africa more than Africa needs me.”


Check out www.mochaclub.org to learn more about Mocha Club’s vision to provide a way for people who don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to make a difference in Africa.

At Mocha Club, one of our biggest missions at the onset was to challenge the preconceptions that people have of this continent and it’s 54 unique nations. We have always cared about building an accurate perception of both the challenges that Africans face, and the BEAUTY of Africa.

www.africanleadership.org

Pacific Northwest Collective of Art and Religion 2008

Asian American Modern Art Exhibit

Asian/American/Modern Art: Shifting Currents, 1900?1970 runs through January 18, 2009 at the de Young Museum. Do check out the extensive schedule of related community programs.

For more info, check out the Chinese Culture Center and the Kearney Street Workshop websites.

Here's a review from KQED

New News, Real News, Everyone's News

I swear, American News has always been pretty provincial. I don't know what my problem is but I've always liked hearing about what happens to other folks in the world -- whether good or bad.

Since the election started ooooh, two or so years ago all news seems to be focused on politics. This means that I totally would not know what the heck is happening in the rest of the world if it weren't for Democracy Now and other news shows on Link TV and the BBC America and its news channel, and the French news on PBS.

I also have to give a shoutout for some blogs.

The Angry Indian Blog

Global Voices Online

And for those who want to know what's happening with Black folks (that the Media doesn't tell us) there's the Electronic Village and Black and Missing

-C

Interestinger and Interestinger

So there were hubby and me on the bed in between passionate lovemaking thinking about the Book of Revelations. (Trust me: this is very common with Christians.)

We got to talking about whether we would be ready if we are raptured or not, how strong we are and the new financial order

Wind Follower review

Well, I got a rejection about three weeks ago from a Christian publisher who thought my male female character was too vengeful -- among other things. I was utterly unable to write but then I got this review from a bunch of women devoted to feminism, and many of whom arenot Christians. I am feeling supremely blessed. Christians may not like my book but perhaps I am not made to write for non-Christians.

http://www.broaduniverse.org/broadsheet/0811cl.html

Plus I had an interview on booksbeyondtheboundaries

Funny but scary. Supposedly, the number one fear of Americans is having to speak in public. This is even bigger than the fear of dying? My friend Marvin told me a joke on this topic: The warden goes to the condemned man with bad news: “John, I’m sorry, but your execution date has been moved up to tomorrow.” To which John replies: “Oh, thank God. I was afraid you were going to ask me to speak in public.”

Anyways, here's the interview if you wish to listen.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/BooksBeyondtheBoundaries/2008/11/20/BBB-with-Carole-McDonnell

And here is Stella's site
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/booksbeyondtheboundaries

Painkiller death epidemic

Truthout declares what we have always known: Doctors and legal prescription drugs kill more folks than drug-dealers.

An analysis of 168,900 autopsies conducted in Florida in 2007 found that three times as many people were killed by legal drugs as by cocaine, heroin and all methamphetamines put together. According to state law enforcement officials, this is a sign of a burgeoning prescription drug abuse problem.

CFRB: White Christmas Pie

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
White Christmas Pie
Barbour Publishing, Inc (September 1, 2008)
by
Wanda E. Brunstetter


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Fascinated by the Amish people during the years of visiting her husband's family in Pennsylvania, WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER combined her interest with her writing and now has eleven novels about the Amish in print, along with numerous other stories and ministry booklets. She lives in Washington State, where her husband is a pastor, but takes every opportunity to visit Amish settlements throughout the states.

This year Wanda also publishedA Sister's Hope


ABOUT THE BOOK

Step into Amish country for this bittersweet holiday romance. Here you'll meet Will Henderson, a young man tortured by his past, and Karen Yoder, a young woman looking for answers. Add a desperate father searching for his son, and you have all the ingredients for a first-class romance that will inspire and enthrall.

Abandoned by his father, Will Henderson was raised by an Amish couple. Now he's about to marry Karen Yoder but is having second thoughts. Can Will overcome the bitterness of his past in order to secure his future? Karen cannot break through the barrier her fiance has suddenly constructed around his heart. When she seeks the advice of an old boyfriend, Will begins to see green. Has he already lost his chance for happiness?

When an accident threatens Will's life, the strength of blood ties is tested. Will a recipe for White Christmas pie contain the ingredients for a happily-ever-after?

If you would like to read the first chapter of White Christmas Pie, go HERE

Watch the book trailer:

Weekend movie-viewing

I saw four old movies over the weekend. Total recall which I had all but forgotten, the old titanic (still haven't seen the dicaprio one) and The lake house with keanu reeves and sandra bullock. And a horror flick called Tale of the Mummy.

The Tale of The Mummy is about yet another mummy looking for his body parts. I shouldn't laugh but i was actually terrified by the way this mummy appeared when he was stalking his victims. Loose bands of dirty mummy cloth floating in the air. That's all he was. Something about it felt very filthy...like worms or slithery cloths from toilets. Strange but I shuddered looking at them when I really should have laughed. Maybe i have an issue with dirty cloths, who knows?

Watching Total Recall I think it was the first time I actually said, "uhm, Arnold S is really quite a hunk." I had never thought of him as handsome.

I actually burst into tears with the titanic. The star was clifton webb who majored in those sophisticated seeming cold and repressed but really a sweetie. I cried so much hubby started laughing at me. It was definitely manipulative but well-earned manipulation.

I'd wanted to see the lake house for a while. I'm a sucker for films that play with reality. And as we all know, folks in love can make folks they love not die by protecting them against the future. The weird thing is that I noticed what a good actor Keanu Reeves has become. He used to be so crappy. He's really grown! But the manipulation was a bit much. There's a point where one thinks, "Oh come on!!!" It's weird to finally see a movie you've always wanted to see and to feel that it didn't quite live up to one's hopes. And it was also trying to be arty. IT was almost pretentious with all that architecture talk. One more movi e about the sorrows of rich folks. But it worked. Didn't make me cry as the old titanic did. Somehow it lacked soul. Shows the difference between a story that really earns the tears it jerks and one which doesn't quite pull you in. Perhaps I was too busying trying to find the scientific fallacy of the story or maybe I kept wondering how they could be so passionately in love with each other after a few letters. ..whatever it was it didn't work.

The best thing about Lake House was the UST -- the unresolved sexual tension. That's what I need to do in my story. And the entire story is about these two people having to "wait."

Wondering: anti-global warming

Hubby and I were pondering -- yep, while in bed-- why so many Christian evangelicals seem to want to not believe in the global warming.

One would think that with the book of Revelations we'd want to believe in GW. (No, not George W.) Is it because the idea of messing up the earth offends them because they don't want to believe man's stewardship can mess up the earth? Is it because global warming tends to blame United States for this problem and American Christians don't want to change their way of life or judge the United States?

PEN's Day of the imprisoned author

November 15th is PEN's Day of the imprisoned author.

Every year on November 15, PEN marks the Day of the Imprisoned Writer to honor the courage of all writers who stand up against repression and defend freedom of expression and the right to information. On this Day of the Imprisoned Writer, PEN is focusing on five cases—one from each world region and each illustrating the type of repression that is brought to bear every day against those who question, challenge or expose official lies or who paint portraits of everyday lives through their writings. PEN invites its members and friends around the world to send appeals on their behalf.

Check out the website to learn more.

While you're at it, check out Voices Against Torture: Writers and Lawyers on the Way Forward. On December 16th,
The American Constitution Society and PEN will host a panel featuring writers and lawyers discussing their work and its relationship to combating torture. With: Jane Mayer, Anouar Benmalek, Elisa Massimino, and Scott Horton; moderated by Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick. The discussion panel will be held in NYC
Check here on the PEN website for More

Gypsy Tears by Cora Schwartz

On this day in history, Nov 15th 1943, the Nazis began putting gypsies into concentration camps.




ISBN 978-0-9760896-9-8
$21.95
Published 2007
244 pages

Rating: Excellent
Gypsy Tears -- Loving a Holocaust Survivor By Cora Schwartz
published by Hobblebush Books,

Here's the blurb:

An unusual, beautifully written, and important first novel by Cora Schwartz, based on the true story of her life living with a holocaust survivor. In a magical and haunting style, Ms. Schwartz weaves an intense love story that answers the question asked so many times since her husband's death: "What was it really like living with a holocaust survivor?" As Ms. Schwartz carries us along in a grand sweep through Yugoslavia, Russia and Romania in the 1960s, the depth of her relationship with Rudy becomes a tragic work of art as she allows us a peek into the soul of a holocaust victim in an artful and deeply moving way. The timeliness of this cannot be overstated now when there are those who deny the holocaust happened.

My review is up at blogcritics

She also wrote another book:



Here's the blurb:

Forty-five Holocaust survivors in a small town in Ukraine would have been forgotten but for an American woman, Cora T. Schwartz. Cora first visited Mogelov with her companion, Rudy, who spent four years in a Nazi labor camp in the region. Although he is gone, Cora carries on their commitment to "never forget" these elderly citizens. The Forgotten Few is a small book with a big message conveyed in both text and photographs. Despite suffering and destitution, the seniors' faces light up when Cora arrives - laden with medicines and donations. Beauty is within them. Describing Frida Shvarzbahn, for example, the author writes, "Here is a woman...who has survived all the horrors of the camps, the ghetto and the war… and yet ...manages to create beautiful poetry. She sits in her little room, rations out 5 grams of sugar a day for her tea and writes about love."

Anyways, check out my review on blogcritics.

-CShe operates a Writers' retreat center called My Retreat in South Fallsburg, NY